Editing Warwick Castle (section)

===Warwick Castle trebuchet===
In June 2005, Warwick Castle became home to one of the world's largest working [[siege engine]]s. The [[trebuchet]] is {{convert|18|m|ft}} tall, made from over 300 pieces of oak and weighs {{convert|22|t|LT ST|1}}.<ref name="world record attempt">{{cite news|title=World record attempt for trebuchet|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-65118147|agency=BBC News|date=29 March 2023|access-date=25 October 2024}}</ref> It sits on the riverbank below the castle.

The machine was built with drawings from the Danish [[living history]] museum [[Middelaldercentret]], who, in 1989, were the first to recreate a fully functioning trebuchet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.archaeology.org/online/interviews/vemming/index.html|title=Reconstructing Medieval Artillery|date=14 June 2005|publisher=Archaeological Institute of America|access-date=26 January 2014}}</ref> It was built in [[Wiltshire]] with expertise from the Danish museum.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.warwick-castle.com/explore-castle/the-mighty-trebuchet.aspx|title=The Mighty Trebuchet|publisher=warwick-castle.com|access-date=26 January 2014|archive-date=3 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130103085334/http://www.warwick-castle.com/explore-castle/the-mighty-trebuchet.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.middelaldercentret.dk/ommiddelaldercentret/blider.html|title=Blider|publisher=[[Middelaldercentret]]|access-date=26 January 2014|lang=da|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029203943/http://www.middelaldercentret.dk/ommiddelaldercentret/blider.html|archive-date=29 October 2013}}</ref>

The trebuchet takes eight men half an hour to load and release.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk">{{cite news|title=Castle plans medieval war machine|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/4586483.stm|agency=BBC News|date=27 May 2005|access-date=19 June 2008}}</ref> The process involves four men running in {{convert|4|m|ft}} tall [[treadwheel]]s to lift the counterweight, weighing {{convert|6|t|LT ST|1}}, into the air. It is designed to be capable of hurling projectiles of up to {{convert|150|kg|lb}} distances of up to {{convert|300|m|ft}} and as high as {{convert|25|m|ft}}.<ref name="news.bbc.co.uk"/>

On 21 August 2006, the trebuchet claimed the record as the most powerful siege engine of its type when it sent a projectile weighing {{convert|13|kg|lb}} a distance of {{convert|249|m|ft}} at a speed of {{convert|195|km/h|mph}}, beating the previous record held by the trebuchet at Middelaldercentret in Denmark.<ref name="Coventry">{{cite news|url=https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/local-news/ursa-hurls-way-record-books-3123417|title=Ursa hurls its way into record books|last=Heath|first=Andrew|date=22 August 2006|newspaper=Coventry Telegraph|access-date=25 October 2024}}</ref>

On 10 April 2015 a thatched boathouse caught fire shortly after a burning cannonball was fired by the trebuchet.<ref name="BBC_32264914">{{cite news|title=Warwick Castle trebuchet fireball 'sparked boathouse blaze'|agency=[[BBC News]]|date=11 April 2015|access-date=11 April 2015|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-32264914}}</ref><ref name="Telegraph_2015-04-10">{{cite web|title=Warwick Castle cannonball show sets fire to historic boathouse|last=Harley|first=Nicola|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|date=10 April 2015|access-date=11 April 2015|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11529201/Warwick-Castle-cannonball-show-sets-fire-to-medieval-boathouse.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411011313/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/11529201/Warwick-Castle-cannonball-show-sets-fire-to-medieval-boathouse.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 April 2015}}</ref> It was reported that a spark from the cannonball had started the blaze<ref name="Telegraph_2015-04-10"/> although a castle spokeswoman said the cause had not yet been established.<ref name="BBC_32264914"/> Hundreds of tourists were evacuated from the castle,<ref name="Telegraph_2015-04-10"/> but the spokeswoman said they were not at any risk.<ref name="BBC_32264914"/><ref name="Telegraph_2015-04-10"/> ''The Daily Telegraph'' described the boathouse as "historic", "medieval" and dating to 1896, when the [[Francis Greville, 5th Earl of Warwick|5th Earl]] had it built to house an electric boat.<ref name="Telegraph_2015-04-10"/>

The trebuchet was decommissioned in 2020 due to safety concerns, and was deconstructed and replaced with a comparable trebuchet in 2023.<ref>{{cite web|title=What is the Mighty Trebuchet?|url=https://support.warwick-castle.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002073271-What-is-the-Mighty-Trebuchet-|website=Warwick Castle|access-date=28 November 2020|archive-date=28 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128132752/https://support.warwick-castle.com/hc/en-us/articles/360002073271-What-is-the-Mighty-Trebuchet-|url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref><ref name="BBC_2023-03-29">{{cite news|last=Copper|first=Liz|title=New trebuchet attraction installed at Warwick Castle|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-65099834|access-date=28 November 2023|agency=BBC News|date=29 March 2023}}</ref>