Captain John Hotham, son of Sir John Hotham, the knight who in April denied King Charles entrance to the port of Hull and its considerable store of munitions and power, two days ago seized Cawood Castle in Yorkshire for Parliament, effectively letting loose the dogs of war in the North of England.

Captain Hotham led a force of 500 foot and horse to the Castle, the former seat of the Archbishops of York that sits on a bend in the Ouse some ten miles south of the cathedral city. The keeper of the Castle handed Captain Hotham the keys, and by all accounts retired immediately to the Ferry Inn for a taste of the establishment’s well-known ale.