In 1451, a treaty between England and Scotland was ratified in the vestry.  In the reign of Henry VII., his daughter, Princess Margaret, attended mass here, with all her retinue, when she stayed in the town on her way to Scotland to be married to the gallant young king James IV.  She was entertained at the house of the Austin Friars, which stood where now stands the Holy Jesus Hospital at the Manors, near to the Sallyport Tower.  When James I. became king of England, he attended service here, as he passed through Newcastle on his way to his southern capital.  In the reign of his ill-fated son, Charles I., Newcastle was occupied by the Scots, under General Leslie, for a year after the battle of Newburn in 1640; and again in 1644 was besieged by them for ten weeks.  On this occasion the town nearly lost its chief ornament and pride—­the lantern of the church; for “There is a traditional story,” says Bourne, “of this building I am now treating of, which may not be improper to be here taken notice of.  In the time of the Civil Wars, when the Scots had besieged the town for several weeks, and were still as far as at first from taking it, the General sent a messenger to the Mayor of the town, and demanded the keys and the delivery up of the town, or he would immediately demolish the steeple of St. Nicholas.

“The Mayor and Aldermen, upon hearing this, immediately ordered a certain number of the chiefest Scottish prisoners to be carried up to the top of the old tower, the place below the lantern, and there confined.  After this, they returned the General an answer to this purpose, that they would upon no terms deliver up the town, but would to the last moment defend it; that the steeple of St. Nicholas was indeed a beautiful and magnificent piece of architecture, and one of the great ornaments of the town, but yet should be blown to atoms before ransomed at such a rate; that, however, if it was to fall it should not fall alone; that at the same moment he destroyed the beautiful structure he should bathe his hands in the blood of his countrymen, who were placed there on purpose, either to preserve it from ruin or to die along with it.  This message had the desired effect.  The men were kept prisoners during the whole time of the siege, and not so much as one gun was fired against it.”

In 1646, when Charles I. was a prisoner in Newcastle for nearly a year (from May, 1646, to February 3rd, 1647), this was the church he attended; and we may picture him listening perforce to the “admonishing” of the stern Covenanters.  In this connection occurs the oft-told story of his ready wit, when one of the preachers wound up his discourse by giving out the metrical version of the fifty-second Psalm, with an obvious allusion to his royal hearer:—­

  “Why dost thou, tyrant, boast abroad,
  Thy wicked works to praise?”

Charles quickly stood up and asked for the fifty-sixth Psalm instead:—­

  “Have mercy, Lord, on me, I pray,
  For man would me devour.”