Treasury notes

Her Majesty's Treasury was formed as the English Treasury in the 12th century, literally as the place where the King kept his treasures. It experienced considerable change and expansion in 1667 when it was given the power to raise taxes during the reign of Charles II, when the nation needed to pay for the wars it has been fighting. The Treasury was run by a commission, each member being descirbed as a Lord of the Treasury, with a number determined by seniority. Eventually, the First Lord of the Treasury was considered the Head of Government and, from Walpole's time, Prime Minister. Today, the Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is automatically the First Lord of the Treasury. Bank notes were only issued by the Treasury for a period during and after the First World War as an emergency measure to replace the gold sovereigns which began to be hoarded. Under the Currency and Bank Notes Act 1914 the Treausry could issue £1 and 10 shilling denominated notes. Unlike the Bank of England notes, some of these depicted the monarch's head, the monarch being George V. The first notes were nicknamed Bradburys, after the then Secretary to the Treasury, whose signature appeared on the notes. Whilst the first issue were crudely produced as uniface prints on fragile postage stamp paper, the later issues were printed on both sides and were more resilient. Treasury Notes ceased being issued in 1928.