Siege of Hull (1643)
Encyclopedia
The unsuccessful second Siege of Hull by the Royalist Earl of Newcastle in 1643 was a victory for Parliament
at the high point of the Royalist
campaign in the First English Civil War
. It led to the abandonment of Newcastle's campaign in Lincolnshire
and the re-establishment of Parliament's presence in Yorkshire
.
under Lord Fairfax
and Sir Thomas Fairfax
at the Battle of Adwalton Moor
on 30 June 1643, the Earl of Newcastle advanced with the main northern Royalist
army into Lincolnshire
. At this point in the Civil War, Royalist fortunes were high, and Newcastle's advance joined Lord Hopton's and King Charles
' armies in a three-pronged advance on London
.
captured Gainsborough
for Parliament, only to be immediately besieged by the Royalists under Sir Charles Cavendish. Parliament sent a relieving force under Sir John Meldrum
and Colonel Oliver Cromwell
, which beat the Royalists at the Battle of Gainsborough
on 28 July. However, the arrival of Newcastle's main army forced the abandonment of Gainsborough, which, with Lincoln
, fell quickly to the Royalists.
, the Military Governor of Hull, was arrested and removed by Major-General Robert Overton
and the people of Hull in July 1643 after conspiring with Newcastle to surrender the city. Lord Fairfax was invited to take up the post by the townsfolk of Hull on 22 July. He fortified Hull, established a base at Beverley
, and set about vigorous raids on Royalist garrisons in Yorkshire.
Newcastle now faced a choice. He had Boston
and the Eastern Association
apparently open in front of him, but faced the prospect of the still-intact army of Lord Fairfax behind him in Hull. Fairfax's attack on Stamford Bridge, near York, prompted Newcastle that he must deal with this threat to his rear, and he turned his army back north to face Fairfax, leaving garrisons in the captured Lincolnshire towns and strongholds.
Within the week, Fairfax's army was back in Hull.
began the bombardment on 2 September, but without great effect because the works were too far away from the city walls, the shot being almost spent by the time it reached the city. The Royalists attempted to push their earthworks nearer to make their guns more effective. However, one such work, Fort Royal, was taken by the defenders and destroyed within a week of construction.
On 14 September, Fairfax ordered the sluices be opened and the banks of the Humber be broken, as had happened in the first siege of Hull
in 1642. This flooded the surrounding land to a distance of two miles.
The Parliamentary warships Lion (captained by Thomas Rainsborough
) and Employment arrived to control the Humber estuary and bring in supplies.
On 22 September, Cromwell crossed the Humber from Lincolnshire with arms and ammunition for the defenders, and joined the Fairfaxes in the defence of the city. Four days later on the 26th, Sir Thomas Fairfax ferried his dragoons and cavalry back across the Humber to join the Eastern Association forces in Lincolnshire. Sir John Meldrum
brought 500 further reinforcements to the defenders.
On 9 October, the Royalists attempted to storm the defences. Although some outlying works were captured, the assault failed to seize the city. The defenders launched a counterattack two days later on 11 October, with 1,500 men comprising soldiers from the garrison, sailors from the warships and townspeople. Led by Meldrum, the force was divided into two columns under Colonel John Lambert
and Colonel Thomas Rainsborough of the Lion. This attack pushed back the Royalists and captured several emplacements and heavy guns.
. The lifting of the siege was marked by an annual public holiday in Hull until the Restoration
.
On 11 October, the Royalists had been defeated at the Battle of Winceby
in Lincolnshire. These two defeats ended Royalist hopes of advancing on London and threw them on the defensive. The Parliamentarians began their advance into Yorkshire that was to culminate with Newcastle being besieged in York
and the consequent Battle of Marston Moor
.
Roundhead
"Roundhead" was the nickname given to the supporters of the Parliament during the English Civil War. Also known as Parliamentarians, they fought against King Charles I and his supporters, the Cavaliers , who claimed absolute power and the divine right of kings...
at the high point of the Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
campaign in the First English Civil War
First English Civil War
The First English Civil War began the series of three wars known as the English Civil War . "The English Civil War" was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations that took place between Parliamentarians and Royalists from 1642 until 1651, and includes the Second English Civil War and...
. It led to the abandonment of Newcastle's campaign in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
and the re-establishment of Parliament's presence in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
.
The Lincolnshire Campaign
After the victory over the army of ParliamentParliament of England
The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...
under Lord Fairfax
Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron , English parliamentary general.-Early life:He was born in Yorkshire the eldest son of Thomas Fairfax, whom Charles I in 1627 created Lord Fairfax of Cameron in the Peerage of Scotland and received a military education in the Netherlands. Two of his...
and Sir Thomas Fairfax
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron
Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron was a general and parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War...
at the Battle of Adwalton Moor
Battle of Adwalton Moor
-The Battlefield:The site of the battle is high ground in Adwalton near Bradford, which is now in an area of rural-urban fringe, . Parts of the site are protected as "green belt" or other types of open space...
on 30 June 1643, the Earl of Newcastle advanced with the main northern Royalist
Cavalier
Cavalier was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I and son Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration...
army into Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
. At this point in the Civil War, Royalist fortunes were high, and Newcastle's advance joined Lord Hopton's and King Charles
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
' armies in a three-pronged advance on London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Gainsborough and Lincoln
On 16 July 1643, Lord WilloughbyFrancis Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby of Parham
Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby of Parham was an English peer of the House of Lords.He succeeded to the title 14 October 1617 on the death in infancy of his elder brother Henry Willoughby, 4th Lord Willoughby of Parham...
captured Gainsborough
Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Gainsborough is a town 15 miles north-west of Lincoln on the River Trent within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. At one time it served as an important port with trade downstream to Hull, and was the most inland in England, being more than 55 miles from the North...
for Parliament, only to be immediately besieged by the Royalists under Sir Charles Cavendish. Parliament sent a relieving force under Sir John Meldrum
John Meldrum
Sir John Meldrum was a soldier of Scottish origin who spent 36 years in the service of the Stuart kings of Scotland and England, James VI and I and Charles I. In 1636, Meldrum was granted by letters-patent from the king licence to continue and renew the lighthouses erected by Charles I on the...
and Colonel Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....
, which beat the Royalists at the Battle of Gainsborough
Battle of Gainsborough
The Battle of Gainsborough was a battle in the English Civil War, fought on 28 July 1643.-Prelude:When the English Civil War was declared, Gainsborough in Lincolnshire lay in an area which supported Parliament, but the town itself had Royalist sympathies...
on 28 July. However, the arrival of Newcastle's main army forced the abandonment of Gainsborough, which, with Lincoln
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....
, fell quickly to the Royalists.
The Fairfaxes
The Fairfaxes, meanwhile, having escaped from Adwalton Moor made their ways separately to Hull, then the only remaining Parliamentary stronghold in Yorkshire. Sir John HothamJohn Hotham
Sir John Hotham, 1st Baronet, of Scorborough , English parliamentarian, belonged to a Yorkshire family, and fought on the continent of Europe during the early part of the Thirty Years' War....
, the Military Governor of Hull, was arrested and removed by Major-General Robert Overton
Robert Overton
Major-General Robert Overton was prominent soldier and scholar, who supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War, and was imprisoned a number of times during the Protectorate and the English Restoration for his strong republican views.-Biography:As positions hardened during the...
and the people of Hull in July 1643 after conspiring with Newcastle to surrender the city. Lord Fairfax was invited to take up the post by the townsfolk of Hull on 22 July. He fortified Hull, established a base at Beverley
Beverley
Beverley is a market town, civil parish and the county town of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, located between the River Hull and the Westwood. The town is noted for Beverley Minster and architecturally-significant religious buildings along New Walk and other areas, as well as the Beverley...
, and set about vigorous raids on Royalist garrisons in Yorkshire.
Newcastle now faced a choice. He had Boston
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...
and the Eastern Association
Eastern Association
The Eastern Association of counties was a Parliamentarian or 'Roundhead' army during the English Civil War. It was formed from a number of pro-Parliamentary militias in the east of England in 1642, including a troop of cavalry led by Oliver Cromwell...
apparently open in front of him, but faced the prospect of the still-intact army of Lord Fairfax behind him in Hull. Fairfax's attack on Stamford Bridge, near York, prompted Newcastle that he must deal with this threat to his rear, and he turned his army back north to face Fairfax, leaving garrisons in the captured Lincolnshire towns and strongholds.
Beverley
Newcastle advanced with 12,000 foot and 4,000 horse, together with his siege train including the guns Gog and Magog. Fairfax's force of 1,800 foot and 20 troops of horse, decided to retreat to the fortifications of Hull. Beverly was abandoned on 28 August, and occupied by the Royalist army, where
...the men (Royalist soldiers) that stayed in the Town fell to their old Trade of Plundering, spoiling and stripping all ages and Sexes ...... they plundered the whole town consisting of above a thousand families and sent their booty of cattel and goods to Yorke. ............ Thus they have done also to all the Towns adjoyning.
Within the week, Fairfax's army was back in Hull.
The Siege
Newcastle's army followed closely, occupying the villages around Hull, and began to construct siegeworks for the investment of the city. The Royalist siege artilleryArtillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
began the bombardment on 2 September, but without great effect because the works were too far away from the city walls, the shot being almost spent by the time it reached the city. The Royalists attempted to push their earthworks nearer to make their guns more effective. However, one such work, Fort Royal, was taken by the defenders and destroyed within a week of construction.
On 14 September, Fairfax ordered the sluices be opened and the banks of the Humber be broken, as had happened in the first siege of Hull
Siege of Hull (1642)
The Siege of Hull in 1642 was the first major action of the English Civil War.As both sides moved towards war, Parliament had access to more military materiel, due to its possession of all major cities including the large arsenal in London...
in 1642. This flooded the surrounding land to a distance of two miles.
The Parliamentary warships Lion (captained by Thomas Rainsborough
Thomas Rainsborough
Thomas Rainsborough , or Rainborough or Raineborough or Rainborowe or Rainbow or Rainborow, was a prominent figure in the English Civil War, and was the leading spokesman of the Levellers in the Putney Debates.-Life:He was the son of William Rainsborough, a captain and Vice-Admiral in the Royal...
) and Employment arrived to control the Humber estuary and bring in supplies.
On 22 September, Cromwell crossed the Humber from Lincolnshire with arms and ammunition for the defenders, and joined the Fairfaxes in the defence of the city. Four days later on the 26th, Sir Thomas Fairfax ferried his dragoons and cavalry back across the Humber to join the Eastern Association forces in Lincolnshire. Sir John Meldrum
John Meldrum
Sir John Meldrum was a soldier of Scottish origin who spent 36 years in the service of the Stuart kings of Scotland and England, James VI and I and Charles I. In 1636, Meldrum was granted by letters-patent from the king licence to continue and renew the lighthouses erected by Charles I on the...
brought 500 further reinforcements to the defenders.
On 9 October, the Royalists attempted to storm the defences. Although some outlying works were captured, the assault failed to seize the city. The defenders launched a counterattack two days later on 11 October, with 1,500 men comprising soldiers from the garrison, sailors from the warships and townspeople. Led by Meldrum, the force was divided into two columns under Colonel John Lambert
John Lambert (general)
John Lambert was an English Parliamentary general and politician. He fought during the English Civil War and then in Oliver Cromwell's Scottish campaign , becoming thereafter active in civilian politics until his dismissal by Cromwell in 1657...
and Colonel Thomas Rainsborough of the Lion. This attack pushed back the Royalists and captured several emplacements and heavy guns.
Aftermath
On 12 October, Newcastle admitted defeat and lifted the siege. He withdrew to YorkYork
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
. The lifting of the siege was marked by an annual public holiday in Hull until the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
.
On 11 October, the Royalists had been defeated at the Battle of Winceby
Battle of Winceby
The Battle of Winceby took place on 11 October 1643 during the English Civil War near the village of Winceby, Lincolnshire about 4 miles east of Horncastle.-Prelude:...
in Lincolnshire. These two defeats ended Royalist hopes of advancing on London and threw them on the defensive. The Parliamentarians began their advance into Yorkshire that was to culminate with Newcastle being besieged in York
Siege of York
The Siege of York in 1644 was a prolonged contest for York during the English Civil War, between the Scottish Covenanter Army and the Parliamentarian Armies of the Northern Association and Eastern Association on the one hand, and the Royalist Army under the Marquess of Newcastle on the other...
and the consequent Battle of Marston Moor
Battle of Marston Moor
The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the First English Civil War of 1642–1646. The combined forces of the Scottish Covenanters under the Earl of Leven and the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester defeated the Royalists commanded by Prince...
.