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. Mon ...

, 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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

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 Herefordshir ...

. 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 Lydbrook is a civil parish in the Forest of Dean, a local government district in the English county of Gloucestershire and is located in the Wye Valley. It is on the north west edge of the Forest of Dean's present legal boundary proper. It compri ...

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 Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Lord Fairfax of Cameron (17 January 161212 November 1671), also known as Sir Thomas Fairfax, was an English politician, general and Parliamentary commander-in-chief during the English Civil War. An adept and talented command ...

.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 Raglan Castle ( cy, Castell Rhaglan) is a late medieval castle located just north of the village of Raglan in the county of Monmouthshire in south east Wales. The modern castle dates from between the 15th and early 17th centuries, when the succ ...

. 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 – ). It ...

Earl of Northampton Earl of Northampton is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created five times. Earls of Northampton, First Creation (1071) * Waltheof (d. 1076) * Maud, Queen of Scotland (c.1074–1130/31) *Simon II de Senlis (1103–1153) * Simon II ...

's Regiment.

The Siege of Derry

Another Roaring Meg protected the Irish city of

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

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 The Worshipful Company of Fishmongers (or Fishmongers' Company) is one of the 110 Livery Company, Livery Companies of the City of London, being an incorporated guild of fishmonger, sellers of fish and seafood in the City. The Company ranks four ...

. 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 The River Beane is a short river in the county of Hertfordshire, England. A tributary of the River Lea, it rises to the south-west of Sandon in the hills northeast of Stevenage and joins the Lea at Hartham Common in Hertford. Watermills In ...

is called the Roaring Meg, rock band and a retail park in

Stevenage Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...

have been named after this. A blonde beer brewed by the Springhead brewery in

Sutton on Trent Sutton-on-Trent is a large village and parish in Nottinghamshire, situated on the Great North Road, and on the west bank of the River Trent. The village contains 2,450 acres of land and according to the 2001 census it had a population of 1,327 ...

takes its name from the cannon. Alluded to by

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

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