1643 1644 1645 1646 The first siege of Hull marked a major escalation in the conflict between King Charles I and Parliament during the build-up to the First English Civil War.

In the meantime, Hull had been reinforced by sea and Parliament had sent Sir John Meldrum to command the town's garrison, as they were concerned about Hotham's loyalty.

[1] At the beginning of January that year, King Charles unsuccessfully attempted to arrest five Members of Parliament (MPs) who were opposing him.

[2] Having failed, and realising that Parliament had more support in London than he did, Charles fled the capital, and both sides began preparing for war.

[4] Access to the North Sea meant it was the primary export point for manufactured goods produced in Northern England; while its position at the confluence of the Hull and Humber rivers also made it the centre of an inland trade route.

[6] Its arms magazine in Lowgate was the second largest in England after the Tower of London; in 1642, it contained 120 artillery pieces, 7,000 barrels of powder, and weapons for 16,000 to 20,000 men.

[6] Sir John Hotham fought in the Palatinate campaign of the Thirty Years' War in the early part of the seventeenth century, before later being returned as a Member of Parliament for Beverley in the East Riding.

[19] Newcastle arrived at Hull on 15 January with letters from the King offering pardons to the townspeople and ordering them to allow him access to the magazine.

Wary of the reception he might receive, he initially attempted to gain entry under the pseudonym of "Sir John Savage", but was recognised and forced to reveal his true identity.

[20] Lacking military might or local influence, Newcastle was unable to gain entry and sent a message to the King saying "the town will not admit me by any means, so I am very flat and out of countenance here".

[23] The garrison was increased to roughly 1,000 soldiers but despite this, Parliament was wary about the proximity of the King's forces and ordered that the town's magazine should be transported to London.

He sent a small retinue ahead, consisting of his eight-year-old son—the Duke of York (later King James II of England)—and his nephew—the deposed Elector Palatine Charles Louis—along with some members of the nobility and fifty men.

Accordingly, on the next morning, Sir Lewis Dyve arrived at the gates and announced that King Charles intended to dine in the town that day.

The two sides continued to dispute matters until the early evening,[25] during which time Hotham agreed to provide food for the King, which he had lowered from the town walls.

A speech made by Hotham on 23 May, in which he justified his actions in defying Charles, was published in pamphlet form and for a time those that favoured Parliament were known as 'Hothamites'.

Hull defences had been further improved, and the poorly trained and equipped army the King had brought was insufficient to storm the town.

[35] Though Parliament controlled the navy, the Royalists did manage to send one ship up the river Humber as far as Keyingham, 10 miles (16 km) east of Hull, where they unloaded eight artillery pieces which they then transported across land to establish a battery on the eastern side of the town.

[41] Charles, having been frustrated in his efforts to capture the town, withdrew from Hull, leaving the Earl of Lindsey in command of his forces.

[24][33][a] Another sortie by Meldrum on 27 July attacked the Royalist arsenal in Anlaby, to the west of Hull,[36] capturing fifteen cannon and a 36-pound (16 kg) mortar.

He declared the Earl of Essex, and by extension Parliament, to be traitors, marking the formal start of the First English Civil War.

[44] Securing Hull and its arsenal ensured the Parliamentarian army began the war better equipped than their opponents and is viewed by the historian I. E. Ryder as "one of the pivotal actions" for the first year of the conflict.

[17] During 1642, the Parliamentarians had the upper hand in the East Riding of Yorkshire, but they suffered territorial losses early the following year, and by June they only held a few towns in the area, including Hull.