Treasury
The Treasury, also referred to as the Exchequer, is a government department responsible
for receiving and disbursing the public revenue. Henry I created the Exchequer as
a distinct government agency
in the twelfth century. However, the Treasury which became a part of the Exchequer, dated back to before
the Norman conquests of 1066.
Originally, the Exchequer addressed financial matters and judicial business. Eventually,
the Exchequer split into two entities in the late eighteenth century. The lower Exchequer,
which became the Treasury, and the upper Exchequer which became the judiciary. In
the nineteenth century a series of parliamentary acts
took away many of the lower Exchequer's departments, leaving only its name. The Exchequer
remains the “unofficial” name of the Treasury in Britain.