The Office of Works was an organisation responsible for structures and exterior spaces, first established as part of the English royal household[citation needed] in 1378 to oversee the building and maintenance of the royal castles and residences.
It was reconstituted as a government department in 1851, which in 1940 became part of the Ministry of Works.
The organisation of the office varied; senior posts included Surveyor of the King's Works (1578–1782) and Comptroller of the King's Works (1423–1782).
After the death of the Surveyor-General and Comptroller James Wyatt in 1813, a non-professional Surveyor-General was appointed: Major-General Sir Benjamin Stephenson.
This arrangement ended in 1832 with the formation of the Works Department, when architect Henry Hake Seward was appointed Surveyor of Works and Buildings.