LAST - Civil War Mortar - Roaring Meg - Goodrich Castle, Herefordshire, UK
Posted by: 
Dragontree
N 51° 52.615 W 002° 36.952
30U E 526443 N 5747418
Roaring Meg lies within Goodrich Castle and is the only surviving Civil War mortar, returned to the castle after 350 years.
Waymark Code: WMN54W
Location: West Midlands, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 12/28/2014
Views: 3
This was the mortar that ruined the castle and was used by the Parliamentarian soldiers. It ended the castle's residence after five centuries of success.
Roaring Meg was used in the Civil War in 1646 when the supporters of King Charles I and those of Parliament attacked Goodrich. Henry Lingen, a Royalist, held the castle.
The mortar was cast in a nearby forge and she fired a gunpowder-filled shell of over 200lb. The design fired the shell into the air and dropped on the castle where the charge exploded.
Roaring Meg brought the north-west tower down and the Royalists surrendered on 31 July 1646.
After a long departure from Goodrich Roaring Meg was returned in 2003. Previously she was outside the Churchill House Museum on Castle Green in Hereford.
There are also cannon balls on display nearby.