The Seige of Newcastle 1644

In 1643 the whole country was involved in a civil war with neither side Royalist or Parliament having an advantage. In order to regain the initiative, Parliament went into an alliance with Scotland, whereby the covenanters would send an army to fight for the Parliaments cause. Consequently, on the 15th January 1644 a Scottish army again crossed the Tweed with Leslie, Earl of Leven at its head.

The Scots advanced rapidly into Northumberland expecting Newcastle to fall easily as it had in 1640. N o w, however the odds had changed, William Cavendish the Marquis of Newcastle had gathered to the city a large army. Amongst the defenders were his famed Whitecoats who were similar to Napoleon's Old Guard. Cavendish repaired the city walls and also built a wooden walled earthwork called Shieldfield fort outside the walls. When the Scots saw what lay before them they decided to bypass Newcastle, and continued on into Yorkshire.

Cavendish decided to shadow the Scots march south and left Sir John Marley to defend the city. On the 2nd of July a bloody and decisive battle was fought at Marston Moor which was decided in favour of Parliament by Cromwell's cavalry. The city of York surrendered soon after, and Cavendish fled to the continent.

Most of London's coal cam e from the Tyne and as long as Newcastle was in Royalist hands the price of coal would soar. A second army was sent from Scotland and met up with the remnants of the earlier army coming back from Yorkshire. When this happened the fate of Newcastle was sealed. A force of thirty thousand men laid siege to Newcastle's walls. Using his artillery, Leven managed to break through the walls in several places only for the defenders to repair them.

Eventually after three months the Scots were in a position to finally storm the walls and take the city. On the morning of the 19th October the Scots prepared for the final attack. After first using guns and mines, the Scots flung themselves on the breaches. Everywhere the attackers met with fierce opposition but eventually weight of numbers finally told and the Scots pushed their way into the city. Still the battle was not over because the defenders fell back street by street.

Gradually the tide of resistance ebbed away until all the defenders had laid down their arms and surrendered including Sir john Marley who later escaped abroad He returned at the restoration as Mayor and later was elected as MP for the city. The Scots lost nearly one thousand men storming the city. The defenders escaped serious loss, however the city was given over to sack for a day as was the custom after a storming.

The siege is celebrated by the motto under the city coat of arms. It reads "Fortiter Defendit Triumphans" which means She bravely and triumphantly defends.

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