Roaring Meg was the name of several powerful cannons used in the 17th century. It is not to be confused with

Mons Meg Mons Meg is a medieval bombard in the collection of the Royal Armouries, on loan to Historic Scotland and located at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland. It has a barrel diameter of making it one of the largest cannons in the world by calibre. ...

, a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

bombard __NOTOC__ Bombard may refer to the act of carrying out a bombardment. It may also refer to: Individuals *Alain Bombard (1924–2005), French biologist, physician and politician; known for crossing the Atlantic on a small boat with no water or food ...

preserved at Edinburgh Castle.

English Civil War

Created by Colonel Birch for the Siege of Goodrich Castle

Roaring Meg was a mortar cast in 1646 for the siege of

Goodrich Castle Goodrich Castle is a Norman medieval castle ruin north of the village of Goodrich in Herefordshire, England, controlling a key location between Monmouth and Ross-on-Wye. It was praised by William Wordsworth as the "noblest ruin in Herefordshi ...

. With a barrel diameter and firing a hollow ball filled with gunpowder, Roaring Meg was the largest mortar of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. The weapon and its ammunition is believed to have been manufactured near Lydbrook at Howbrook furnace and forge whose then owner, John Browne, is known to have supplied weapons to the Parliamentarians. It was instrumental in the capture of

in 1646 by Sir Thomas Fairfax.NDS – News Distribution Service
/ref> During the siege the Roundhead commander, Colonel Birch, was so excited with his new weapon he personally fired the last 19 balls. Following Roaring Meg's success at Goodrich, it was subsequently deployed at the bombardment of Raglan Castle. Roaring Meg is preserved by

Herefordshire Council Herefordshire Council is the local government authority for the county of Herefordshire in England. It is a unitary authority, combining the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district. History The council was formed on 1 April 1998 followi ...

and has been on display at Goodrich Castle since 2004.

A cannon in the Earl of Northampton's Regiment

Roaring Meg was also the name of a cannon used earlier in the war by the

Cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ) ...

Earl of Northampton's Regiment.

The Siege of Derry

Another Roaring Meg protected the Irish city of Derry during the siege of 1689. One of several cannon given to Derry by the City of London in the aftermath of the earlier siege of 1641, Roaring Meg became famous for "the loudness of her voice", which was said to bring cheer to the townspeople and terror to the besiegers. An inscription upon its barrel, which fired shot weighing eighteen pounds, indicates that it was cast in 1642 and that it was the gift of the Fishmongers' Company. It remains in place on top of the city walls, and was still used to fire ceremonial salutes into the 19th century.

In popular culture

A tributary of the River Beane is called the Roaring Meg, rock band and a retail park in Stevenage have been named after this. A blonde beer brewed by the Springhead brewery in Sutton on Trent takes its name from the cannon. Alluded to by Monty Python with the

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially ...

, "The whole garrison banged Roaring Meg and shot their balls into the French"

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20090906011151/http://www.northamptons.org.uk/arty.html *http://nds.coi.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=102312&NewsAreaID=2 *http://www.hereford.gov.uk/html/roaring_meg.html *http://www.derrycity.gov.uk/Press%20Releases/060904-roaring.htm *http://www.mainmast-conservation.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=7 {{DEFAULTSORT:Roaring Meg (Cannon) Cannon Mortars