Legal Definitions - prest

Prest refers to a historical financial obligation. It was a payment due from a sheriff to the central treasury (known as the Exchequer) when the sheriff presented their official accounts. This duty could arise either from the general financial reconciliation of their office or specifically from public funds that had been in the sheriff's temporary keeping.

Here are some examples to illustrate this historical term:

• Imagine a medieval sheriff, Sir Reginald, who was responsible for collecting royal taxes from the villages and manors within his shire. At the end of the fiscal year, Sir Reginald would travel to the Exchequer in London to present his financial records, detailing all the taxes collected and any authorized expenses. If, during this accounting, it was determined that a specific sum was due from him, either as a fixed charge for his office's accounting or for funds he had managed, that payment would be considered a prest.

• Suppose Sheriff Eleanor, in the 14th century, presided over a local court where various fines were levied against offenders, and certain properties were forfeited to the Crown. These monies and assets were temporarily held in her custody. When Eleanor later submitted her detailed financial report to the Exchequer, a prest might be demanded from her. This payment would represent a duty owed for the public funds she had administered and was now transferring to the central treasury.

• Consider Sheriff Thomas, who was entrusted with a sum of money by the King to oversee the repair of a royal castle within his jurisdiction. After the project was completed, Thomas had to present a full account of the expenditures to the Exchequer. If, upon review, a specific administrative fee or a residual sum from the initial allocation was deemed payable by Thomas back to the Crown, this obligation would be classified as a prest. It was a duty arising from his custody and management of royal funds.