This volume publishes and contextualizes the papers of the Hotham family, parliament's governors of Hull during the civil wars. The dilemma of allegiance experienced by Sir John Hotham and his son, Lieutenant-General John Hotham, resulted in consequences of national significance. They were beheaded on Tower Hill in January 1645.

This edition publishes the Hotham family's correspondence and papers during the civil wars, bringing together for the first time material from the University of Hull Archives, the British and Bodleian Libraries and the National Archives. It comprises the papers of Sir John Hotham, parliamentarian governor of Hull, and his eldest son and deputy governor Lieutenant-General John Hotham. Their correspondents include the Fairfaxes, Hampden, Lenthall, Pym, Saye and the Earl of Newcastle. The volume demonstrates Hull's critical military significance, where the Hothams' pre-war defiance of Charles I rendered them figures of national consequence. It provides important evidence for attitudes to honour, the civil war in the north and the internal politics of parliament's cause. It also sheds new light on Sir John Hotham's trial for conspiring to betray Hull. Ultimately, it demonstrates the dilemma of allegiance encountered by a gentry family whose concerns for personal status and reputation consumed them.