Solemn League and Covenant
The 1643 Solemn League and Covenant had created a Committee of Both Kingdoms, which for the first time co-ordinated Parliamentary strategy in all three war zones, England, Scotland and Ireland. In February 1644, the Scots under Leven besieged Newcastle, closing the major import point for Royalist war supplies. They made little progress, with the Marquess-based nearby at Durham.