Catalogue description Records of Chancery: Office of the Accountant General of the Court of Chancery and successors

An Act of Parliament of 1726 created the post of Accountant General of the Court of Chancery. The post was set up to counter the speculative activities of some of the Masters of the Court of Chancery who , together with the Usher of the Court had previously been entrusted with monies lodged into court. It transpired that some of the masters had been using the money to make dubious investments for their own benefit and had sustained heavy losses to the money belonging to the litigants and patients. It was ordered that all the money be boxed up and sent to the Bank of England for safekeeping. The role of Accountant General was to act as book-keeper to keep track of the funds held by the Bank.

In 1872, the Accountant General was replaced by the Paymaster General and the office was renamed the Chancery Pay Office under the Treasury.

In 1884, when the Court of the Exchequer was abolished, the office was renamed again and became the Supreme Court Pay Office which now also held funds for the Queen's Bench, Probate, Divorce and Admiralty cases. Chancery at this time also included Lunacy, which was subsequently transferred to a new department called the Management and Administration Department, eventually becoming the Court of Protection in 1947.

In 1925, the Pay Office reverted to being an office of the Supreme Court and all the powers transferred back from the Paymaster General to the recreated post of Accountant General of the Supreme Court.

With the publication of the revised Supreme Court Fund Rules on 15 December 1975 the office was renamed again and the Court Funds Office was created.

With a further revision of the Rules in 1986 the Court Funds Office, Public Trustee and the Court of Protection were amalgamated to become the Public Trust Office.

In April 2001, the Public Trust Office was disbanded; the functions being taken over by the Office of the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee. The remaining functions of the Public Trust Office were passed to the Public Guardianship Office. The Court Funds Office became part of the Supreme Court Group within the Court Service (renamed HM Court Service in April 2004).

On 1 April 2007, the Court Funds Office left HM Court Service and joined with the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee. this organisation was an associated office of the Ministry of Justice.

On 1 April 2009, the Court Funds Office demerged from the Official Solicitor and Public Trustee. With the opening of the new Supreme Court on 1 October 2009, the Court Funds OFfice ceased using the title 'Accountant General of the Supreme Court' on 30 September 2009. The new title became 'Accountant General of the Senior Courts'.