Woolsack in 1346. From the Middle Ages until 2006, the presiding officer in the House of Lords was the Lord Chancellor and the Woolsack was usually mentioned in association with the office of Lord Chancellor. In July 2006, the function of Lord Speaker was split from that of Lord Chancellor pursuant to the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. The Woolsack is a large, wool-stuffed cushion or seat covered with red cloth; it has neither a back nor arms, though in the centre of the Woolsack there is a back-rest. The Lords' Mace is placed on the rear part of the Woolsack. In
Lords Commissioners of the Treasury the powers of the Houses of Parliament in favour of the lower house. From the Glorious Revolution and onwards it had become increasingly constitutionally untenable for the person setting fiscal policy (i.e. the Chancellor) to reside in the House of Lords, a principle which was embedded permanently in the constitution from 1718 with the resignation of Lord Stanhope (note this excepts the brief tenures of certain Lord Chief Justices, who historically assumed the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer "pro tempore" during vacancies, and who were often peers). That notwithstanding, the constitutional convention mandating that the Prime Minister reside in