h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In the early days of accounting a tax record was kept on stips of wood. The amount owed was notched into the wood and then the wood was spoit down the middle and half was kept by the tax payer while the other half was kept by the revenue. When the tax payer paid his or her (but not as likely in those times) taxes the two halves of the tallies were matched up to see that the payer hadn't sawn off a few notches to reduce the bill or that the tax office hadn't added a couple for fun.

Once paid the wooden tallies were stored for possible future reference and record keeping. Where were they stored? Why, underneath the good old Houses of Parliament. The Gunpowder Plot wasn't just to set off the gunpowder but to light all of the tallies and have one huge fire.

They aren't stored there now.

Nope!
The room chosen was a coal storage room before the coal was cleared out and the room rented by the plotters.

To learn more go here:


http://www.bcpl.net/~cbladey/guy/html/mainz.html

CB

http://www.thocp.net/timeline/papers/tallies.pdf
Look at the bottom of page 2 and the top of page 3. What Guy Fawkes & co. couldn't do the Exchequer managed to do later on, by accident!