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The King's Remembrancer (or '''Queen's Remembrancer''' when the monarch is female) is an ancient judicial post in the legal system of England And Wales . Since the Lord Chancellor no longer sits as a judge, the Remembrancer is the oldest judicial position in continual existence. The King's Remembrancer was created in 1154 by King Henry II as the chief official in the Exchequer Court , whose purpose was 'to put the Lord Treasurer and the Baron’s of Court in remembrance of such things as were to be called upon and dealt with for the benefit of the Crown', a primary duty of whom was to keep records of the taxes, paid and unpaid. The first King's Remembrancer was Richard of Ilchester, a senior Civil Servant and later Bishop Of Winchester . The King's Remembrancer continued to sit in the Court of the Exchequer until its abolition in 1882 . The post of King's Remembrancer is held by the Senior Master Of The King's Bench Division QUIT RENTS CEREMONY The Exchequer Court is re-created once a year for an ancient ceremony dating from in Shropshire for which the City must pay two knives, one blunt and one sharp; and a Forge in Tweezer's Alley, just south of St. Clement's Dane, near the Strand in London , for which the City must pay six Horseshoe s and 61 Nail s. The Comptroller of the City of London presents the horseshoes and nails and counts them out to the Remembrancer who then pronounces "Good number". The knives are tested by the King's Remembrancer by taking a Hazel stick, one Cubit in length, and bending it over the blunt knife and leaving a mark. Then the stick is split in two with the sharp knife. This practice stems from the creation of Tally Sticks where a mark was made in a stick with a blunt knife for each payment counted and then, when payment was complete, the stick was split down the middle, leaving each party with half of the marked stick and creating a receipt. After the knives are tested the Remembrancer pronounces "Good service." The King's Remembrancer also presents newly-appointed Sheriff s of the City with a Writ of Approbation from the Monarch , sealed with the great silver Seal of the Exchequer. TRIAL OF THE PYX See Also: Trial of the Pyx The ''Trial of the Pyx'' is a ceremony dating from 1249 , formerly held in the Exchequer Court but now held in Goldsmith's Hall . The King's Remembrancer swears in a jury of 26 Goldsmith s who then count, weigh and otherwise measure a sample of 88,000 gold coins produced by the Royal Mint . The coins in boxes known as Pyxes. FOREST OF DEAN In 1688 , King James II appointed the King's Remembrancer to appoint commissioners to supervise the planting of trees in the Forest Of Dean . The Forest was an important source of iron, coal and timber to the Monarch, but had been neglected during the Commonwealth . OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES The King's Remembrancer is also responsible for nomination of the High Sheriff s of each County of England and Wales, presentation of the Lord Mayor Of London to the Lord Chief Justice , Master Of The Rolls and other High Court Judge s at the Royal Courts Of Justice on Lord Mayor's Day . SEE ALSO
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