Stuarts and the Civil War – 1603 to 1644
Plagues, witch trials and fires are familiar aspects of Elizabethan and Stuart life but the greatest disruption was caused by the Civil War in the mid-1600s. In 1640, Charles I summoned Parliament to raise funds for a war against the Scots but Parliament, not called for eleven years, naturally refused. Charles was defeated by the Scots at Newburn on Tyneside in 1640 and the Scots seized the North-East. This further increased the tensions between King and Parliament that resulted in the English Civil War.
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Mar 24, 1603 – JAMES I : King of two nations
James VI of Scotland becomes James I of England following the death of the childless Elizabeth I. He is the first of the Stuart dynasty to rule England. His mother was Mary, Queen of Scots who was executed in 1587. Her father had been James V of Scotland, Elizabeth’s first cousin. Unlike his Catholic mother, the new King James was brought up a Protestant, but distrusts the Presbyterianism form of the religion that has taken hold in Scotland.
April 6, 1603 – James enters new kingdom
King James enters his newly acquired Kingdom of England at Berwick upon Tweed. Here he is greeted by Tobias (‘Toby’) Matthew, the Bishop of Durham. On April 9, James enters Newcastle and is preached to by the Bishop of Durham at the town’s St Nicholas church (now Newcastle cathedral). Newcastle was then, like Berwick in the Diocese of Durham.
April 13, 1603 – King enters Durham
After his stay in Newcastle King James enters Durham City on April 13th where he is again entertained by the Bishop of Durham at Durham Castle before heading south to rest at Walworth Castle, near Darlington, the home to the Jennison family.
1603 – Gainford Hall
Gainford Hall in the village of Gainford near Darlington, is built by the Reverend John Craddock in the typical ‘Jacobean’ style of this era.
Nov 5, 1605 – Gunpowder Plot
Guy Fawkes (Guido Fawkes) of York is chief among those implicated in a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament. Fawkes will be tortured and executed. He was working on behalf of the Spanish as part of this Catholic plot to overthrow the government. There were thirteen plotters in all including fellow Yorkshiremen, Robert and Thomas Winter and John and Christopher Wright.
Nov 5, 1605 – Percy involved in Plot
Perhaps the most notable name amongst the Gunpowder plotters was Thomas Percy. He was the second cousin once removed of Henry Percy, the 9th Earl of Northumberland, who had appointed him Constable of Alnwick Castle. His involvement will focus suspicion on the Percy family name.
1606 – Union Flag
A new flag called the Union flag is introduced with the encouragement of King James who desires to see the unification of England and Scotland as a new state called Great Britain. The new flag will be used at sea. On land the armies of England and Scotland will continue to use the flags of their respective nations. The union flag combines the blue and white saltire St Andrew’s cross of Scotland with the red cross of St George that forms the flag of England. The diagonal red cross of St Patrick (representing Ireland) will not be added until 1801 and the flag of Wales does not feature.
1607 – English Parliament rejects union
The parliament of England rejects King James’ proposed union with Scotland. The two nations remain separate but continue to share a monarch. It will be a hundred years before they unify as the the United Kingdom of Great Britain.
1607 – Liddels of Ravensworth
The Liddel family have purchased the estate and castle of Ravensworth near Gateshead.
1607 – Skinningrove merman
In this year a merman was allegedly swept inshore by storms and caught by fishermen on the Cleveland coast at Skinningrove.
1609 – Ulster Plantations
The plantation of English and Scottish Protestants in the northern part of Ireland (Ulster) begins. Native, Gaelic speaking and largely Catholic Irish are evicted from their lands.
1609 – Reivers sent to Ireland
King James begins the transportation of the most troublesome Border Reivers to northern Ireland. Many Protestant English and Presbyterian Scots, mostly from south west Scotland and the lowlands are also deliberately settled in Ulster at this time. Ulster was then a largely Catholic Gaelic speaking region. The Border Reivers are another particularly distinct group of settlers who are sent to northern Ireland. In the Borders, the typical raiding way of life of the reivers will come to a gradual end over the next five years now that England and Scotland are ruled by the same king.
1610 – Sunderland must pay Newcastle
Around 14,700 tons of coal a year is exported from Sunderland to London but following a petition from Newcastle upon Tyne, the King orders that part of Sunderland’s coal revenue must be paid to the Newcastle merchants even though Sunderland is situated on a completely different river.
Aug 17 to 28, 1617 – King in the region
King James stays for a number of days in the County of Durham during a journey north to Scotland. He arrives at Auckland Castle on August 17 as a guest of the Bishop of Durham. He then moves on to Durham City on August 19 and attends a horse race at Woodham near Aycliffe on August 21. The following day he moved on to Newcastle where he was entertained as a guest of the mayor.
1619 – Tyzack’s Glass
An industrial pioneer with the exotic name of Tymoline Teswick operates a glass making plant at Howdon on Tyne. He is a French Huguenot artisan and his surname will also be spelled Tyzack.
1620 – Gibside
The construction of Gibside Hall to the south west of Gateshead that commenced around 1603 is completed for William Blakiston and his family in a beautiful setting near the Derwent valley.
1620 – Scarborough Spa
Scarborough’s development as a holiday resort begins with the discovery of a well of mineral water with supposed health benefits, on the Yorkshire coast.
1620 – Whickham Grand Lease Way
The first recorded colliery railway or wagonway in the region is ‘The Whickham Grand Lease Way’ which runs from Whickham to Dunston on Tyne via Lobley Hill. However, the coal trade was already long-established in the area.
1622 – Ballast shore targeted at Jarrow
The men of Newcastle destroy a ballast shore erected at Jarrow by Henry Vane over concerns that he is encouraging shipping trade in direct competition with their town.
1622 – Stockton coal
Stockton is recorded as shipping coal this year but the town is relatively distant from the coalfield compared to other places further north and is primarily an agricultural port.
1623 – Ouseburn glassworks
A glassworks is established at Ouseburn just east of Newcastle.
Mar 27, 1625 – KING CHARLES I
Charles I becomes King following the death of his father, James I. He is a king who very much believes in his divine right to rule. His unwillingness to accept change will bring great turmoil.
1626 – Barnard Castle Vanes
Barnard Castle becomes the property of the Vane family.
Mar 7, 1627 – Cavendish Earl of Newcastle
Yorkshire-born courtier, William Cavendish is given the title Earl of Newcastle upon Tyne by King Charles. Cavendish, connected to the great Derbyshire family of this name is a grandson of Bess of Hardwick. He has no particular connection with Newcastle but will play an important part in the events there in the Civil War.
May – June 1633 – King Charles in region
King Charles visits the North East while on his way to Scotland. He stays at the castles of Raby, Auckland and Durham. He came to Newcastle on June 3 and paid a visit to Tynemouth on June 5.
1636 – Newcastle and Darlington plagues
An extraordinary 5,037 people die of plague at Newcastle after the contagion spread from North Shields in 1635. The plague also ravaged at Gateshead and Darlington. Grass is said to now grow in Newcastle’s streets.
March 1638 – Presbyterian covenant
Thousands of Presbyterian Scots sign a ‘Covenant with God’ resisting the religious reforms King Charles hopes to impose on their Scottish ‘kirk’ or Church of Scotland. Essentially, the ‘Covenanters’ do not believe in bishops and reject an Anglican-style Book of Common Prayer that Charles has tried to impose north of the border. Similar attempted impositions on the church in England are also causing resentments from hard line Puritans there.
Dec 1638 – Covenanters eject bishops
King Charles is the head of the Church of England where its system of bishops places him firmly at the head of the church. North of the border in Scotland religion is more complex and divisive than it is in England. In December, in defiance of the King, the Presbyterian-dominated Scottish Kirk abolishes bishops. However, some ‘Royalists’ in Scotland do believe in bishops. Of course none of this concerns the altogether separate Catholics (prominent in the Scottish Highlands) who believe the Pope in Rome should be the head of the church.
1638 – Charles strengthens Newcastle
Charles I strengthens Newcastle’s defences against a likely invasion of the Scots who he knows are plotting against him. The town is already surrounded by extensive defensive walls dating to medieval times which will soon be tested once again.
1639 – English troops at Berwick
Following the recent abolition of bishops in Scotland, a war breaks out called the First Bishops’ War. There are skirmishes in Scotland – between Royalist ‘Episcopalians’ who believe in bishops’ and the Presbyterians who don’t. English forces gather at Berwick which has been an English town since 1482.
May 30, 1639 – Agreement at Berwick
King Charles arrives at Berwick to join the English army assembled there. He makes his way north via Raby Castle; Durham City and Newcastle where he stays as the respective guest of Sir Henry Vane; Bishop Morton of Durham and Alexander Davidson, the mayor of Newcastle. An army of Scottish Covenanters under General Alexander Leslie, the Earl of Leven, gather at Duns to the north of the border and progress to Kelso on the Tweed. On June 18, a truce is agreed, known as ‘The Pacification of Berwick‘. The king agrees to defer the complaints of the Presbyterians to a newly created Scottish Parliament. This brings an end to what was known as the ‘First Bishops’ War’
1639 – King triggers Second Bishops’ War
In a change of policy that defies the terms of the recent Berwick truce, King Charles attempts to dissolve the new Scottish Parliament and triggers a Second Bishops’ War. In January 1640, a Scottish Covenanter army seize control of the Royalist stronghold of Aberdeen.
Apr 13 – May 5, 1640 – ‘Short Parliament’
Charles summons the English Parliament to try and raise funds for a military campaign against the Presbyterian Scots. However, the English Parliament have not been called by Charles for eleven years and their relationship with the king is broken. The English Parliament, headed by John Pym, have many grievances against Royal abuses of power and will not support the military campaign until the grievances are addressed. Charles has no intention of giving up royal powers and after only three weeks he dissolves the English Parliament. It comes to be known as ‘The Short Parliament’
Aug 28, 1640 – Battle of Newburn on Tyne
No doubt exploiting the growing tensions south of the border and the increasingly weak position of the king, a 20,000 strong army of Scottish Presbyterian Covenanters under General Alexander Leslie cross the Tweed into England on August 20, bypassing Berwick. Eight days later, occupying land overlooking a ford on the north bank of the Tyne, they engage in battle with the English at Newburn to the west of Newcastle. The Scots, who occupy the more defendable bank of the river, are the victors.
Aug 29, 1640 – English army loots Durham
King Charles’ army, under the leadership of Lord Conway fled from the Battle of Newburn following their defeat. The English army, mustered by Charles from the south of England, were poorly trained and undisciplined. Retreating, they leave Newcastle deserted and undefended and loot the City of Durham as they return south, heading home via Northallerton.
Aug 29, 1640 – Scots enter Newcastle
The Scots enter Newcastle unopposed on August 29. The Newcastle coal trade, such an important and lucrative business, places the Scots in a strong position for negotiation. Around 10,000 people are employed in the mines and its associated shipping here at Newcastle but the whole trade comes to a standstill, with the workers fearing repercussions from the Scots should they attempt to work. Keel boats cease to operate and ships reaching the mouth of the Tyne turn away upon hearing the news of the Scottish occupation.
Aug 30, 1640 – Scots enter Durham
The Scots enter Durham City, finding it bled dry from the recent retreat of the passing English army and many of the city’s occupants have fled. The Bishop of Durham is amongst those absent. He retreated to his castle at Stockton and from there headed for refuge at York and then London. At Darlington the Earl of Strafford orders the removal of all cattle and consumable goods from the town in anticipation of the approach of the Scots.
Sep 1640 – Scots occupy Sunderland
The Scots launched raids on Sunderland from early September and seized the town where they find that there are some sympathisers to the Covenanter and Parliamentary cause. The Scots took a keen interest in the coal trade and the customs revenue of the port. On September 23, Leslie, the Scottish military leader at Sunderland requested that Protestants in the County of Durham reveal themselves to avoid their lands being victim to Scottish foraging.
Oct 1640 – Scots occupy North East
The Scottish Covenanter army have complete control of North East England, occupying Newcastle, Northumberland and Durham all the way to the River Tees. The people of the region petition the king for relief. In a humiliating agreement for Charles, the Treaty of Ripon is signed allowing the Scots to occupy the North East and what is more the Scots will receive daily expenses of £850 a day (about £200,000 in today’s money) for doing so. It is a temporary measure while the king tries to come to some sort of agreement. Charles is forced to call Parliament once again. The town and castle of Stockton and nearby village of Egglescliffe, both on the north bank of the Tees are excluded from the treaty and remain in Royalist hands.
Nov 1640 – ‘Long Parliament’
The expense of the military campaign and the costly occupation of Northumberland and Durham by the Scots forces King Charles to recall Parliament. This time Parliament only agrees to reconvene after an act is passed insisting that Parliament can only be dissolved with the agreement and votes of its members. This Parliament will sit until 1660 and will be known as ‘The Long Parliament’.
Aug 1641 – Scots depart
After many months of hardship for the region, the Scots leave the North East after Charles negotiates a truce at York. The Scots are paid £60,000 as an agreement for their departure. They finally cross the Tweed, returning to their home country on August 25. As Civil War tensions grow following the Scottish departure, garrisons and defences will be improved at Sunderland, Newcastle and elsewhere in the hope of preventing a future Scottish incursion.
1641 – Council of North abolished
The Council of the North is abolished. First operating between 1472 and 1485, it was revived in King Henry VIII’s reign in the 1530s and had operated continuously since then. It had served as a source of administering royal power in the North since that time but is now perceived as a potential source of rebellion, particularly in its support of Catholics.
Jan-Apr 1642 – Tensions rise
Tensions increase between the king and the English Parliament throughout the early part of 1642. In January the king fails to arrest John Pym; Sir Arthur Haselrig and other prominent MPs. In February Parliament banishes bishops from the House of Lords. In the meantime Henrietta Maria, the Queen of King Charles, flees to the Netherlands to seek assistance. In March, Parliament passes a law enabling it to appoint military commanders, a clear sign that a war is coming. In April the king’s entrance to the important Yorkshire port of Hull is blocked.
June 1642 – Tyneside defences
King Charles’ supporters work hard to secure the far northern counties for the King. William Cavendish, the Earl of Newcastle, working on behalf of the king, orders men and horses from across Durham to defend Newcastle. Around 300 men are sent to South Shields to reinforce defences there and Tynemouth is likewise put into preparation for defence. The following year the king will make Cavendish the Marquis of Newcastle for his loyalty. On October 20, John Marley will be elected Newcastle mayor.
Aug 22, 1642 – Civil War commences
In June the king rejects a list of propositions from Parliament and then holds a great meeting with the Lords and Gentry at Heworth Moor near York to gather support, The king then fails in an attempted siege of Hull. On August 22, the war begins after the king raises his standard at Nottingham.
Aug-Oct 1642 – Parliamentarian Sunderland
The garrison at Sunderland receives Parliamentarian ammunition where a prominent figure and former mayor of the town, George Lilburne (recently defeated in an election), raised parliamentary forces. Lilburne is subsequently captured, arrested and imprisoned at Durham and York for fourteen months on the orders of the Marquis of Newcastle. Parliamentary support from the merchant community and garrison at Sunderland is linked to both religious beliefs and the sympathies of London partners in the Wearside to London coal trade. The garrison at Newcastle by comparison seems to be dominated by Royalists, perhaps not surprising given Newcastle’s royal-approved monopoly and almost complete control over the region’s coal trade.
Dec 1, 1642 – Battle of Piercebridge
Numerous battles took place throughout 1642 in the midlands and south, notably at Edgehill and at Turnham Green but the first major incident in the North East occurs at Piercebridge on the River Tees. The most northerly four counties of Northumberland, Durham, Cumberland and Westmorland had all been secured for the Royalists under the leadership of the Marquis of Newcastle but in Yorkshire support was more divided. At the request of the Yorkshire Royalists, who were fearful of attack, the Marquis of Newcastle sends south 6,000 men in support. They include Sir William Lambton’s Regiment of Foot and Sir Thomas Howard’s Dragoons.
Dec 1, 1642 – Bridge barricaded
The bridge at Piercebridge is barricaded during the battle and defended by Captain John Hotham for the Parliamentarians who had been sent north by Lord Fairfax, the commander of the Yorkshire Parliamentarians. Sir Thomas Howard who led the Royalist onslaught is killed during the Piercebridge battle but it ends in a Parliamentarian retreat, enabling the Royalist forces to take the bridge and continue into Yorkshire. Another battle takes place at Tadcaster on December 6 in which the Royalists are once again the victors. The winter months then bring a temporary end to the campaigning.
Jan 14, 1643 – Coal trade blockade
Last year Hull came out in support of the Parliamentarians and banned Charles from visiting. Parliament considers Newcastle to be in Royalist hands and bans London coal ships from sailing to Newcastle unless Newcastle agrees to support the Parliamentarians. This blockade also has an impact on neighbouring ports such as Sunderland and Blyth which are under Newcastle’s monopolised jurisdiction of the local coal trade.
June 30, 1643 – Battle at Adwalton Moor
Parliamentarian troops under Lord Fairfax are defeated by Royalists in a battle near Leeds in West Yorkshire despite strong local Parliamentarian support in Leeds and Bradford. The Royalists now control all Yorkshire except for Hull.
Jan 15, 1644 – Scots seize Berwick
On January 15, the Scots under General Alexander Leslie invade England again with over 20,000 men to support the English Parliamentarians against the king in the Civil War. A small force of English Royalists led by Sir Thomas Glenham is too small to resist them and retreat to Newcastle. By January 20 the Scots have entered Berwick.
Jan 22, 1644 – Laying waste rejected
While an army of over 20,000 Scots is now poised to advance at Berwick, Royalist military leaders and Royalist gentry meet at Alnwick on January 22nd to decide how to respond. The Yorkshire gentry vote to lay waste to the lands in Northumberland, so destroying the provisions the Scottish army would need for the advance. Of Course the Northumbrian gentry disagree. The destruction of Felton Bridge across the River Coquet is also considered but rejected.
Feb 3, 1644 – Scots reach Newcastle
Unopposed on their advance through Northumberland, the Scots reach the Tyne and the walls of Newcastle. Some Scots encamp outside the town and others at Corbridge. The Newcastle natives had set alight to the suburb of Sandgate which lies just outside the town walls to prevent the Scots from taking shelter there on the east side of the town. Sandgate burns for several days. On February 6th General Leslie has heavy ordnance delivered by sea to Blyth and from there it is dragged across land to his camp.
Feb 22, 1644 – Scots move camp to Heddon
After camping outside Newcastle for several days the Scots leave six regiments of foot from their 20,000 strong army north of Newcastle but the bulk of the army head west to Heddon on the Wall where they encamp on February 22 before laying out camps the next day along the Tyne valley from Ovingham to Corbridge.
Feb 28, 1644 – Scots cross the Tyne
The Scottish army cross the River Tyne by fords at Ovingham, Eltringham and Bywell and then cross the River Derwent into Durham by a bridge at Ebchester on March 1. They advance across north Durham in the direction of Chester-le-Street and the River Wear. Their intended destination is Sunderland where there is Parliamentarian sympathy and a river port (the Tyne is blockaded) to keep them supplied with provisions from Scotland and London.
Mar 4, 1644 – Scots enter Sunderland
Passing close to Chester-le-Street on March 2, the Scots encamp at Harraton where they observe the Sabbath on Sunday 3rd. On March 4 they advance along the north bank of the River Wear which they cross via fords in two divisions at Hylton and at Ford-Pallion. They enter the town of Sunderland and create a deeply entrenched fortified encampment at Bishopwearmouth Panns between Bishopwearmouth and Old Sunderland. Given the Parliamentarian sympathies within the town, the Scots take Sunderland without resistance. The blockade of coal from Sunderland and the port of Blyth is lifted by Parliament who also encourage ships to transport armaments north to assist the Parliamentarian cause. It gives Sunderland merchants the opportunity to benefit from and grow their coal trade as the blockade continues at Newcastle.
Mar 5, 1644 – Monkwearmouth Garrison
The Scots establish a second separate garrison on the north side of the River Wear at Monkwearmouth complementing that found on the south side of the River Wear. The two sides of the river here are only linked by ferry.
Mar 6-8, 1644 – Skirmishes at Offerton
Around March 6, a skirmish seems to have taken place at Chester New Bridge near Chester-le-Street. On March 7, a party of Royalists advanced towards Sunderland from the south. They spot the Scots encamped at Humbleton Hill to the south of the town. A skirmish follows at Offerton and the outflanked Royalists retreat to Penshaw Hill. There is a further skirmish here the following morning in a heavy snow storm.
Mar 8, 1644 – Scots desperate for provisions
The Scots were struggling for provisions as five supply ships laden with food and drink from Scotland were either cast away or captured by the Marquis of Newcastle. Increasingly desperate for provisions, the Scots leave two regiments at Sunderland and head towards Durham only to find the land stripped of its cattle by the Marquis of Newcastle. They head back to Sunderland via the north side of the river and encamp between the Wear and Tyne.
Mar 15 & 19, 1644 – South Shields taken
Now camped between the Wear and Tyne, the Scots turn their attention to South Shields but in their initial siege upon the town on March 15 they are seen off by Captain Chapman. The Scots try again on March 19 and this time are successful in capturing South Shields.
Mar 24, 1644 – Hylton and Boldon battles
After marching from Durham to Chester-le-Street, the Marquis of Newcastle’s Royalist soldiers engage the Scots in skirmishes on the hills above the River Wear at Hylton and a further skirmish occurs the following morning near Boldon windmill. The outcome weighs in favour of victory for the Scots. On retreating to Durham the Royalist rear is attacked by a small party of Scots, perhaps at Gilesgate Moor with some pursuits as far as Brancepeth and Bishop Auckland.
Mar 24, 1644 – Scots control Wearside pits
During March the Scots had taken full control and protection of the Sunderland coal trade including the keels and the mines in the important Harraton, Lumley and Lambton areas, enabling the shipment of coal to Parliamentarian London. With the Newcastle coal trade ground to a halt, Sunderland was thriving under the Scottish and Parliamentarian influence. During March, Parliamentarians express anger at enemy Royalists from Newcastle entering the area, capturing forty Wearside miners and keelmen, burning their mines and mocking them for supplying the London coal trade. In April a hundred Scots guarding Wearside keels are also captured by the Royalists.
April 8, 1644 – Easington to Quarrington Hill
Provisions from the local countryside are severely plundered by the Scottish army and the manoeuvrings of the Royalist army. The presence of these armies place a great burden on the land and the local people. Around March 31, the Scots extend their quarters to Easington where they camp for several days before marching west, on April 8 to Quarrington Hill near Durham.
April 11, 1644 – Selby stormed
The Yorkshire town of Selby held by John Belasyse, the Governor of York is besieged by the Parliamentarian cavalry of Sir Thomas Fairfax who have recently crossed the Pennines from their campaigns in Cheshire. The Royalist City of York is now under threat from the Parliamentarians.
Apr 13, 1644 – Troops head for Yorkshire
With the strategically important Royalist stronghold of York now under threat from the Parliamentarians, the Marquis of Newcastle is needed in Yorkshire. He gathers together troops from a Royalist garrison now stationed at Lumley Castle as well as from the town of Newcastle itself (leaving enough men behind to defend the town). He marches via Durham, Bishop Auckland, Barnard Castle and crosses the Tees at Piercebridge (April 14), gathering support where he can.
April 13, 1644 – Scots at Ferryhill
The Scottish Covenanter army under General Leslie at Quarrington Hill move south to assist the Parliamentarian campaign in Yorkshire. On their way they camp near Ferryhill and at Darlington on April 14 they cross the Tees at Croft. Near here they capture some of the tail-end of the Marquis of Newcastle’s forces and take them prisoner.
April 20, 1644 – Marquis enters York
On April 20, the Marquis of Newcastle enters the city of York while the Scots under General Leslie join up with the Parliamentarian troops of Fairfax at Wetherby.
April 22, 1644 – Siege of York begins
Commencing on April 22, the Parliamentarian troops of Fairfax, assisted by General Leslie’s Scottish army of Covenanters besiege the Royalist garrison at York. Fairfax’s troops lay to the east of the city and Leslie’s Scots are to the west with the Marquis of Newcastle’s troops holding out in the city between the two. The cavalry of the Marquis narrowly escapes from the city to join with other Royalists armies but a Royalist garrison of 800 horse and 5,000 foot remain in the city under Newcastle’s command.
June 3, 1644 – York encircled
From June 3, Fairfax and Leslie are further assisted in their siege of York by the troops of the Earl of Manchester, leaving York virtually encircled.
Jun 30, 1644 – Prince Rupert to rescue
On May 16, from his headquarters at Oxford, King Charles dispatches his nephew, Prince Rupert to assist the relief of York. Rupert leaves Shrewsbury on May 16, gathering troops at Chester and besieges the Parliamentarian town of Bolton in Lancashire. Joined at Bury by the Marquis of Newcastle’s cavalry (that escaped from York) he captures Liverpool after a five day siege. He then heads across the Pennines via Preston, Clitheroe and Skipton before arriving at the Royalist castle of Knaresborough on June 30.
Jul 2, 1644 – Battle of Marston Moor
The allied Parliamentarians and Presbyterian Scots at York are divided by rivers and fear a vulnerability to Rupert’s attack. They abandon the siege of York on June 30 and collectively take up a position on Marston Moor to the west of the city. York is relieved by a section of Rupert’s army and the Marquis of Newcastle’s army are ordered to join Rupert at Marston Moor. The Parliamentarian allies inflict a heavy defeat on the Royalists in a night-time battle at Marston Moor. This battle is the biggest of the Civil War and three thousand Royalists are killed. On July 16, York is finally taken by the Parliamentarians after a long siege. The Royalist town of Newcastle still remains to be taken.
July 14, 1644 Dutch ship seized
A Dutch man of war ship destined for the Royalist port of Scarborough is captured by a Captain Haddock of Sunderland. The ship was loaded with gunpowder presumably to supply the Royalists, though the Dutch deny any knowledge of the contents.
July 20, 1644 – Another Scottish invasion
A new Scottish army arrives in the north to support the Parliamentarian cause. The army of the Earl of Callendar cross the Tyne at Newburn Ford on July 20. Entering Durham they make their way along the Wear to join the existing Scottish garrison at Sunderland from where they advance along the Durham coast towards Stockton and Hartlepool.
July 25, 1644 – Hartlepool and Stockton fall
The Royalist town of Hartlepool and the castle at Stockton-on-Tees (which belonged to the Bishop of Durham) both fall to the army of the Scottish Earl of Callendar.
Aug 13, 1644 – Siege of Newcastle begins
The next major focus of General Leslie’s Scottish army is the town of Newcastle, which falls under siege. The town is defended under the command of the mayor, John Marley. Scots will be stationed outside the town walls as well as at Gateshead and on the bridge across the Tyne. An additional ‘bridge of boats’ is also built across the Tyne by the Scots.
Oct 19, 1644 – Newcastle walls breached
For about ten weeks the resilient town of Newcastle holds out against the Scottish siege but with winter approaching in October, the Scots step up the pressure with heavy firing from batteries placed around the walls and the laying of mines which create the potential for breaches. A small breach is made by the White Friar Tower. The soldiers of the town garrison concentrate the fire of their scattered shot upon the Scottish soldiers who attempted to enter here. The Scots attack the town’s ‘Newgate’ which is defended by Cuthbert Carr and then attack the Pilgrim gate, on Pilgrim Street, defended by Captain George Errington; Lieutenant William Robson and the Ensign Thomas Swan. These men kept on fighting, taking down many of their attackers, until they are overwhelmed by the flow of incoming Scots.
Oct 20, 1644 – Newcastle mayor’s refuge
On October 20, General Leslie himself enters the captured town of Newcastle. He had been quartered at Elswick throughout the siege. Upon entering he receives a letter from Marley, the mayor, who had taken refuge in Newcastle castle and had continued to fight. The mayor begs for liberty and safe delivery to a Royalist garrison, which Leslie refuses. Eventually the mayor and his supporters surrender the castle on October 22 and are briefly attacked by the Scottish mob as they emerge.
Oct 1644 – Services cease at St Andrew’s church
The church of St Andrew in Newcastle’s Gallowgate suffered badly from bombardment during the Newcastle siege. So badly, in fact that for a whole year services would cease at the church. It could have been much worse for St Andrew’s, as during the siege the Scots had threatened to specifically target the church. Marley, the Newcastle mayor responded to the threat by placing Scottish hostages in the church tower. It is ironic that St Andrew is Scotland’s patron saint.
Oct 1644 – Newcastle – Sunderland rivalry
Parliamentarian sympathisers in Sunderland, were perceived to have assisted the ‘blew cap’ Scots (named from the blue berets of their attire). The Wearsiders apparent support for the Scots is said have been heavily resented by Newcastle’s Royalist natives.
There were certainly influential Parliamentarians in Sunderland, most notably the Lilburne family. A weakening of Newcastle and its Royal-approved monopoly of the North East coal trade, could potentially benefit Sunderland’s trade. A Newcastle Royalist rhyme supposedly from the time of the siege is said to demonstrate the resentment and rivalry:
“Ride through Sandgate, up and doon, there you’ll see the gallants fighting for the croon; and all the cull cuckolds in Sunderland toon; with all the bonny blew caps cannot pull them doon”
The rhyme first appears in Robert Surtees’ extensive and detailed history of County Durham published in the early nineteenth century and is presented as a genuine ballad of the time. There is a possibility that Surtees made it up.
Oct 27, 1644 – Tynemouth besieged
The Royalist garrison of Tynemouth Castle is besieged by General Leslie’s Scottish army and it surrenders. The castle had it seems been affected by a plague and its commanders seem to have deserted its quarters. The Civil War continues.
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