Battle of Marston Moor
He was disabled from sitting in parliament in 1643. After the Royalist defeat at the Battle of Marston Moor, Cholmeley refused to flee the country, holding Scarborough for the king during its Great Siege, until he was forced to surrender, on very favourable terms, on 22 July 1645. His estates were sequestrated, but he later compounded for £850.