Great Siege of Scarborough Castle/Timelines

Click on dates for sections of the main article

1642-1651: English Civil War: Scarborough sides with the Royalists March 1643: Castle garrison led by Sir Hugh Cholmley; briefly loses the Castle to his cousin, Captain Browne Bushell August 1644:Parliamentary forces reach Scarborough following Royalist defeat at Marston Moor and the fall of York; Cholmley stalls with surrender negotiations 18th February 1645: Capture of Scarborough's port; first siege of the Castle by Parliamentary forces begins 24th March 1645: Sir John Meldrum, leader of the Parliamentary forces, badly injured in clifftop fall; allows Royalist surprise attack and delays siege by six weeks 1st May 1645:Parliamentarians' Committee of Both Kingdoms orders that the Castle be taken at all costs 10th May 1645: Royalist counter-attack leads to Parliamentary retreat after three-day bombardment and collapse of the 11th May 1645: Heavy hand-to-hand fighting around the barbican; Parliamentarians take heavier casualties, Meldrum killed 27th July 1648: New castle garrison goes over to the Royalist side 19th December 1648: Second siege brings Castle back under Parliamentary control; later used as a prison