The citizens of Nottingham, pleased with the energy shown by Colonel Hutchinson, elected him Governor of Nottingham Castle. It was a high post for a man only twenty-seven years of age, but Colonel Hutchinson soon proved that he was well fitted for it The castle, although standing in an excellent position, was in a dilapidated condition and required much strengthening before it could be considered strong enough to withstand a determined attack. The required alterations were carried out under Colonel Hutchinson's supervision, and at length all that was needed to withstand a siege was a stock of provisions and a larger garrison. These, however, the governor could not obtain.
A period of waiting followed. Again and again the rumour spread that the Cavaliers were approaching to capture the castle, but they did not attack it. Their guns were heard in the distance, but for some reason known only to themselves they did not deliver the long-expected assault. Lucy Hutchinson had an unenviable time. Loving a peaceful, domestic life, she was compelled to live in the midst of turmoil. She saw to the feeding of the soldiers, a trying task considering that so far the Parliamentary party had allowed her husband nothing whatever towards defraying the cost of maintaining the garrison, and that the stock of provisions was running low. Moreover she was often troubled concerning the safety of her relatives. Her eldest brother, Sir Allen Apsley, of whom she was exceedingly fond, was fighting gallantly for the king, and believing that the Parliamentarians would triumph, she feared that if he escaped death on the battle-field, it would only be to suffer imprisonment and the confiscation of his estate.
At last, in 1644, the Earl of Newcastle sent a messenger to Colonel Hutchinson calling upon him to surrender Nottingham Castle to the Royalists, a demand that was promptly refused. 'If his lordship would have that poor castle,' the colonel said to the messenger, 'he must wade to it in blood.'
The messenger departed, and Colonel Hutchinson made preparations to withstand a siege. Greatly to his surprise, however, the attempt on the castle was not made, the Earl of Newcastle having been compelled to march his forces to the assistance of Royalists in another part of the country.