Great Siege of Scarborough Castle - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Great Siege
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...

of Scarborough Castle
Scarborough Castle
Scarborough Castle is a former medieval Royal fortress situated on a rocky promontory overlooking the North Sea and Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England...

was a major conflict for control of one of England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

's most important stone fortresses during the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

(1642–1651), fought between 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....

's parliamentary Roundheads and the Royalists

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...

loyal to King Charles I

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...

(reigned 1625–1649). In February 1645, Parliamentary forces laid siege to the castle for five months of bombardment and bloody fighting, destroying most of the keep

Keep

A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

, before the defenders finally surrendered. This was a significant though short-lived victory in Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

's bid to replace the monarchy

Monarchy

A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...

with his own republican

Republicanism

Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...

regime, one which led to a second, far less bloody and destructive siege later in the year when the new garrison switched sides. The castle finally came under Parliamentary control in December 1645, and remained so until the restoration of the monarchy.

Background

The English Civil War saw Scarborough, its castle and strategic supply port on the side of Charles I, with 700 Royalist soldiers led by Sir Hugh Cholmley - who originally occupied the castle

Castle

A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the word castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble...

as a Parliamentarian loyal to Cromwell in September 1642, but swapped sides in March 1643. Cholmley actually lost the castle in a bloodless takeover by his own cousin

Cousin

In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...

, Captain Browne Bushell

Browne Bushell

Browne Bushell , was an English Civil War-era naval officer. He initially sided with the Roundheads. On the night of 15 August 1641 he led a small parliamentary force in a cutting out operation to capture the Henrietta Marie in Portsmouth harbour. In 1643 he switched to the royalist side...

, in March 1643 while away at York

York

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...

, but persuaded him to give it back. The castle changed hands seven times between 1642 and 1648, and was refortified on Cholmley's orders, including establishment of the South Steel Battery for artillery

Artillery

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...

Royalist stronghold

After March 1643, although Cholmley was the only Royalist commander at work in east and north 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...

, his forces felt so secure at Scarborough that they could move almost freely throughout the region, targeting Parliamentary positions. In May, Cholmley's cavalry

Cavalry

Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...

moved north of Whitby

Whitby

Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the...

, 20 miles away, and pillaged the estate of the Earl of Mulgrave, a loyal Parliamentarian. June saw Cholmley capture the marketplace 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...

, some 30 miles from the castle, and from September to October 1643 he was present at the unsuccessful second Royalist siege of Hull

Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...

.

Though Royalist siege and kidnap was a nuisance to the Parliamentarians, these victories were never decisive, and Parliament considered the King's south-western strongholds far more important targets. However, piracy

Piracy

Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...

would ensure that Scarborough became a priority. As a Royalist port, it was a safe haven for its captains to plunder coal

Coal

Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...

ships, and it was also a place where arms were brought ashore: the supply of coal to London was being seriously impeded by the forces based at Scarborough Castle, a fact that would become more pressing as winter approached.

The Royalist failures at Hull signalled the onset of a Parliamentary victory across Yorkshire, with the exception of Cholmley's garrison at Scarborough Castle. After the entry of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

into the war on Parliament's side in early 1644, the Royalist defeat at the 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...

and York's surrender to the Roundheads in July 1644, many of Cholmley's garrison deserted and the castle fell into disrepair. When 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...

's Parliamentary forces reached the edge of the town that August, Cholmley bought time to upgrade the castle defences by opening surrender negotiations, an act that would allow him to hold out for a year.

The Great Siege

On 18 February 1645, 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...

took the town with 1700 men and almost no casualties, cutting off any escape routes by land or sea, taking the South Steel Battery and delivering the last Royalist port for Parliament. The same day, Cholmley retreated into the castle and refused to give in, so the Parliamentarians prepared for what would be a five-month siege - one of the most bloody of the Civil War, with almost continuous fighting.

Meldrum had taken the town and secured the port, but that was as far as his luck held. Parliament was less interested in the castle now that the port was theirs, and he was now forced to appeal for extra funds from other ports by raising the spectre of Royalist pirates such as Browne Bushell making devastating raids on Parliamentary supply lines. Over several weeks, as the funds began to trickle through to Scarborough, allowing Meldrum the forces he needed to attempt an all-out siege, Parliament came around to the idea that besieging the castle should be prioritised. The siege was delayed for six weeks, however, while Meldrum recovered from an astonishing fall over the cliff edge on 24 March. According to Cholmley, he had been trying to retrieve his hat

Hat

A hat is a head covering. It can be worn for protection against the elements, for ceremonial or religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status...

from the wind, though the more likely explanation is that a sudden gust blew him off the cliff. Meanwhile, the garrison initially had access to drinking water

Water

Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...

from local springs and the 'Well of Our Lady' near the cliff edge (the other well being dry), along with stockpiled food, which allowed them to effectively defend the castle for months.

Bombardment of the castle

Once Meldrum resumed command in May, the Parliamentary forces set up what was then the largest cannon

Cannon

A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...

in the country, the Cannon Royal, in the twelfth-century St. Mary's Church below the castle, and proceeded to fire 56-65 lb (27 kg) cannonball

Cannonball

A cannonball is round shot ammunition for a cannon.By analogy, cannonball is also the name or nickname of:* A diving technique in swimming; unlike competitive diving techniques, however, its purpose is to maximize, rather than minimize, splash upon water entry.People* Cannonball Adderley, jazz alto...

s that pounded the castle's defences; the Royalists replied with their own forward battery under Browne Bushell. The church was extensively damaged over the three days of fighting, and is partly ruined to this day; records report that Cholmley "did great mischief to St. Mary's", though it is more likely that the Parliamentary gun

Gun

A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...

blasts did more damage to a building that was already decaying. The bombardment partially destroyed the castle keep by collapsing the west wall, its roof, the floors and its interior staircase. Without the outer walls breached, however, the Parliamentary forces were unable to take the castle immediately afterwards, and indeed had inadvertently supplied the defenders with a large pile of rubble that could be used for cover and ammunition. Meldrum failed to realise until it was too late that the Royalists were cut off from the barbican by the sheer amount of rubble blocking the way, and therefore did not attempt to take the castle entranceway until the Royalists had already broken through and retaken control. Meldrum was only able to take Bushell's battery, where he set up 34-pound cannons to target the castle yard. On the night of 10 May, the Royalists moved against the artillery battery, destroying it, and the Parliamentary forces retreated in some disarray, taking heavy casualties. There followed a period of particularly bloody hand-to-hand fighting around the barbican

Barbican

A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...

gateway the next day, where neither side took prisoners; ultimately, Sir John Meldrum was mortally wounded.

Surrender

By July 1645, the tide was turning in the Parliamentarians' favour: Sir Matthew Boynton

Sir Matthew Boynton, 1st Baronet

Sir Matthew Boynton, 1st Baronet , of Barmston and Bainton in the East Riding of Yorkshire, was an English Member of Parliament....

had replaced Meldrum, favouring cannon fire from land and sea over infantry assault. Bombardment, scurvy

Scurvy

Scurvy is a disease resulting from a deficiency of vitamin C, which is required for the synthesis of collagen in humans. The chemical name for vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is derived from the Latin name of scurvy, scorbutus, which also provides the adjective scorbutic...

, lack of water

Water

, perhaps a shortage of gunpowder

Gunpowder

Gunpowder, also known since in the late 19th century as black powder, was the first chemical explosive and the only one known until the mid 1800s. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate - with the sulfur and charcoal acting as fuels, while the saltpeter works as an oxidizer...

and the threat of starvation meant that the castle's surrender came at noon on 25 July, with only 25 men fit to fight. Fewer than half the original 500 defenders emerged alive, receiving a less-than-warm welcome from the townsfolk, who had endured great hardship during the siege. Perhaps to bring a quick end to hostilities, Cholmley had received unprecedently good surrender terms, and left for exile in Holland.

Aftermath

Initially repaired and rearmed for Parliament with a company of 160 to hold the castle and man the gun batteries, the castle returned to Royalist hands when the soldiers went unpaid; Matthew Boynton, its new governor and son of the elder Boynton, declared for the King on 27 July 1648. This led to a second siege which brought the castle back under Parliamentary control on 19 December, with the garrison defeated as much by the oncoming winter as by the Parliamentary forces. Following this, the castle was to have been demolished by an order of July 1649, to prevent it being used as a Royalist stronghold, but a local outcry saved it, along with new fears that resurgent Royalist forces were plotting to retake Scarborough, and the actual appearance of Dutch vessels in the harbour. Instead, it was used as a prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

for those deemed enemies of the Commonwealth of England

Commonwealth of England

The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...

, the country's brief period of republicanism

Republicanism

; the shell of the keep survives, minus the west wall. The castle was returned to the Crown following the restoration of the monarchy.

External links

Scarborough Castle - Information for Teachers - Information, diagrams and exercises from English Heritage. .pdf file.
'The borough of Scarborough', A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 2 (1923), pp. 538–560. Detailed academic account of the features and history of Scarborough Castle.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.