Roaring Meg (cannon)

[1] With a 15.5-inch (390 mm) barrel diameter and firing a 2 long cwt (220 lb; 100 kg) hollow ball filled with gunpowder, Roaring Meg was the largest mortar of the English Civil War.

[6] 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.

A tributary of the River Beane is called the Roaring Meg, a rock band and a retail park in Stevenage have been named after this.

Alluded to by Monty Python with the double entendre, "The whole garrison banged Roaring Meg and shot their balls into the French"