Erased Century

Tally sticks, stockholder origin, Bank of England 1694, Parliament fire 1834, medieval currency, Exchequer records, King Henry I, split wood accounting, Great Stop of the Exchequer 1672 — why did they burn 726 years of financial records and accidentally destroy Parliament in the process? In this episode, we trace a currency system that built the British Empire, then vanished from memory within a single generation. Do you own stock? The word comes from a stick of wood. Specifically, the longer half of a split tally stick given to whoever held a financial claim. The stock holder. From 1100 AD until 1826, England tracked debt, recorded taxes, and ran its economy with notched pieces of hazel wood split in half to prevent forgery. One half for the creditor. One half for the debtor. The grain matched so perfectly that counterfeiting was physically impossible. This system built an empire. Then they burned every last stick — and Parliament went up in flames with it. King Henry I introduced …