Sieges of Berwick (1355 and 1356)

The sieges of Berwick were the Scottish capture of the English town of Berwick-upon-Tweed on 6 November 1355, the subsequent unsuccessful siege of Berwick Castle, and the English siege and recapture of the town in January 1356. The Scots had been fighting the English in the Second War of Scottish Independence since 1332. After a period of military inactivity, the Scots assembled an army on the border in 1355. They were encouraged in this by the French, who had been fighting the English in the Hundred Years' War since 1337. In September the Scots and the English agreed a truce, and much of the English army left the border area to join King Edward III's campaign in France.

In October the Scots broke the truce, invading Northumbria and devastating much of it. On 6 November a Scottish force led by Thomas, Earl of Angus, and Patrick, Earl of March, captured the town of Berwick in a pre-dawn escalade. They failed to capture the castle, which they besieged. Edward returned from France and gathered a large army at Newcastle. Most of the Scots withdrew, leaving a 130-man garrison in Berwick town. When the English army arrived, the Scots negotiated a safe passage and withdrew. Edward went on to devastate a large part of southern and central Scotland. He was only prevented from worse depredations because bad weather prevented his seaborne supplies from arriving.