The siege of Newcastle (3 February 1644 – 27 October 1644) occurred during the First English Civil War, when a Covenanter army under the command of Lord General Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven besieged the Royalist garrison under Sir John Marlay, the city's governor. Eventually the Covenanters took the city of Newcastle-on-Tyne by storm, and the Royalist garrison who still held castle keep surrendered on terms.This was not the first time that Newcastle-on-Tyne had changed hands during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. The Scots had occupied the city during the Second Bishops’ War in 1640.