Chancellor of the Exchequer when James Callaghan was the first chancellor to break with tradition when he used a newer box. Prior to Gladstone, a generic red Despatch Box of varying design and specification was used. The practice is said to have begun in the late 16th century, when Queen Elizabeth I's representative Francis Throckmorton presented the Spanish Ambassador, Bernardino de Mendoza, with a specially constructed red briefcase filled with black puddings. In July 1997, Gordon Brown became the second chancellor to use a new box for the Budget. Made by industrial trainees at Babcock Rosyth Defence Ltd ship and submarine dockyard in Fife,
Chancellor of the Exchequer Treasury" is not a minister but the senior civil servant in the Treasury. The chancellor is obliged to be a member of the Privy Council, and thus is styled the Right Honourable (Rt. Hon.). Because the House of Lords is excluded from Finance Bills under the Parliament Acts, the office has since the early 20th century been effectively limited to members of the House of Commons. The chancellor holds the formerly independent office of Master of the Mint as a subsidiary office. The Chancellor's official residence, since 1828, is No. 11 Downing Street. In 1997, the then First and Second