Helen Liddell has seen her post merged

Both departments was created as Westminster came under pressure to do more to address Scottish and Welsh concerns.

With devolution, the debate changed: critics said the departments and their cabinet ministers did not have enough to do now many of their powers were exercised from Holyrood and Cardiff.

The Scottish Office was originally established in 1885 after years of campaigning for its creation.

Rebellion boost

Ewen Cameron, senior lecturer in Scottish history at Edinburgh University, told BBC News Online: "Many Scottish Liberals in particular felt that Scottish affairs were neglected at Westminster, especially things like the long-running demands for reform of the education system."

Before then, the Home Office had nominal responsibility for Scottish business.

There was also the lord advocate, a post which still exists, but he had legal responsibilities and was seen as too busy to get substantially involved in politics.

Dr Cameron said that in its early days the Scottish Office was responsible only for a very narrow range of issues, although government as a whole was smaller in that period.

The Crofters' Rebellion in the Highlands in the 1880s did, however, help the office gain more influence on law and order issues.

Edinburgh presence

Dr Cameron explained: "The big change came early in the 1930s. Until then really the Scottish Office did not have a presence in Scotland."

The office at St Andrew's House in Edinburgh, now used by the Scottish Executive, opened in 1939.

That move gave the Scottish Office a physical manifestation in Scotland and from then on its powers increased, as did the number of civil servants working from Scotland.

In the early days, the head of the Scottish Office was not a cabinet minister automatically, but the post did win secretary of state status in 1926.

But the devolution settlement led to questions about the Scotland secretary's role.

The office, however, insisted the department played a key role in promoting the devolution settlement, representing Scotland in Whitehall and advising the government on Scottish legal issues.

By contrast with its Scottish counterpart, the Welsh Office was set up as recently as 1964.

The department gradually assumed powers from a number of Whitehall departments, including education and training, health, trade and industry, environment and transport, and agriculture.

Language barriers

The office was headed by a secretary of state in the cabinet, as well as having two junior ministers.

Devolution in Wales left more powers in Whitehall than happened in Scotland.

But it was noticed that when Peter Hain became Welsh Secretary he was able to continue his role of being the government's representative on the Convention on the Future of Europe.

Some English politicians found some of the ceremonies involved in being Welsh secretary could cause embarrassment.

Footage of John Redwood trying to sing the Welsh national anthem when he clearly did not know the words has dogged the Conservative MP.

Another Welsh Secretary, William Hague, instead found the language barrier could bring unexpected bonuses.

The seeds of Mr Hague's relationship to his now wife Ffion, who worked in the Welsh Office, were sown when she decided to teach him the country's national anthem.