 The king must have been impressed by Edington ’ s performance , because in 1344 he made him treasurer of the realm , a position he held for the exceptionally long period of twelve years . This was a job fraught with problems , as the nation was in serious financial difficulties by the mid @-@ 1340s . The treasury was in great debt from the heavy demands of the early stages of the Hundred Years ' War . By then reneging on his debts , the king had lost public confidence , and struggled to obtain new loans . Edington saw the need to bring all royal expenditure under the oversight of the exchequer . This did not entail controlling the king ’ s use of his resources — a move Edward would have resented greatly — but simply attempting to budget all revenues and expenses . By the early 1360s this was largely achieved ; a testimony to the capabilities and energy of Edington as an administrator . In 1356 he was named chancellor , a post he held until his retirement from the national scene in 1363 , possibly for health reasons . 
