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. Charles sought to secure the large arsenal held in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. He first approached the town in late April 1642 and was rebuffed by the town's Parliamentarian governor, Sir John Hotham. Charles retreated to York but in July he received news that Hotham might be willing to hand over the town if the Royalists approached with force large enough for Hotham to surrender with his honour intact.