18-537: The Edinburgh Dungeon is an underground tourist attraction in Edinburgh's city centre, on Market Street, which uses live actor shows and interactive rides to show various historical events from Scottish history in a scary fun style, with audience interaction and special effects, theatrical sets and performance. The shows are laced with tongue in cheek, gallows humour typical of the Dungeon brand. The Edinburgh Dungeon
36-428: A journey through 500 years of Edinburgh's history where they meet actors performing as some of Edinburgh's most infamous characters, including Agnes Finnie , Burke & Hare , Sawney Bean and The Green Lady Elizabeth Elphinstone. The Dungeon's shows are staged on theatrical sets with special effects, including shaking floors, spinning walls, levitation gags and air jets. The show incorporates events such as The Plague,
54-662: A main board director of Vardon. In 1999, Nick led the management buyout of Vardon Attractions, majority owned by funds managed or advised by Apax Partners, to form Merlin Entertainments and, following subsequent private equity funded secondary buyouts, initiated the process which led to its acquisition by the Blackstone Group . In 2011, he stated his belief that free admission to British museums and art galleries were primarily used by "foreign tourists and middle class people who can afford it." In business circles, he
72-661: A new certificate of authentication, a knight's only personal documentation, was designed by the College of Arms . The Imperial Society of Knights Bachelor was founded for the maintenance and consolidation of the Dignity of Knights Bachelor in 1908, and obtained official recognition from the Sovereign in 1912. The Society keeps records of all Knights Bachelor, in their interest. There is no female counterpart to Knight Bachelor. The lowest knightly honour that can be conferred upon
90-644: A project worth over £500,000 they installed a steel structure that now houses their Witch Hunt show, which features Agnes Finnie and the Witch 'Pricker', charged with extracting her confession. The show also features many special effects, which, at the time of installation, was a world first combination. The Edinburgh Dungeon is part of the Merlin Entertainments Group , and is one of eight Dungeons in Europe. The Amsterdam Dungeon , Berlin Dungeon ,
108-423: Is described in heraldic terms as follows: Upon an oval medallion of vermilion , enclosed by a scroll a cross-hilted sword belted and sheathed, pommel upwards, between two spurs, rowels upwards, the whole set about with the sword belt, all gilt. In 1974, Queen Elizabeth II issued a further warrant authorising the wearing on appropriate occasions of a neck badge, slightly smaller, and in miniature. In 1988,
126-637: Is usually conferred for public service; amongst its recipients are all male judges of His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England . It is possible to be a Knight Bachelor and a junior member of an order of chivalry without being a knight of that order; this situation has become rather common, especially among those recognized for achievements in entertainment. For instance, Sir Michael Gambon , Sir Mo Farah , Sir Derek Jacobi , Sir Anthony Hopkins , Sir Elton John , Sir Michael Caine , Sir Billy Connolly , Sir Barry Gibb and Sir Ian McKellen are Commanders of
144-401: Is widely seen as an aggressive marketer and was quoted in 2011, as saying "if you can get out of our attractions without buying tickets for the others, well, good luck." In 2013 Nick Varney was awarded an honorary doctorate by Staffordshire University "In recognition of his considerable business success on a global scale." On 29 April 2022, it was announced that Varney would be retiring from
162-689: The Blackpool Tower Dungeon, The Castle Dungeon at Warwick Castle , Hamburg Dungeon , and the York Dungeon are also part of the Dungeon Group. 55°57′04″N 3°11′27″W / 55.9511°N 3.1909°W / 55.9511; -3.1909 Nick Varney Sir Nicholas John Varney (born 1962 ) is a British businessman who was the chief executive officer of attractions operator Merlin Entertainments . He held this position from 1999 until 2022. Varney attended
180-753: The London School of Economics before becoming a junior marketer in the mid-1980s, later progressing to senior roles. He has over 24 years experience in the visitor attractions industry and was appointed chief executive officer of Merlin Entertainments in 1999. He was later appointed a Director of the company on 20 October 2013. Nick started his career in marketing, first with Rowntree and then with Reckitt Colman. He went on to hold senior positions within The Tussauds Group, including marketing director of Alton Towers and Head of Group Marketing, before becoming managing director of Vardon Attractions and
198-563: The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE); Sir Patrick Stewart , Sir Cliff Richard , Sir Tom Jones and Sir Van Morrison are Officers of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE); while Sir Paul McCartney , Sir Richard Starkey ( Ringo Starr ), Sir Nick Faldo , and Sir Lewis Hamilton are Members of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE). None of them would be entitled to use
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#1732775910382216-486: The Order of the British Empire instead.) Until 1926, Knights Bachelor had no insignia which they could wear, but in that year King George V issued a warrant authorising the wearing of a badge on all appropriate occasions by Knights Bachelor; this badge is worn on the left side of the coat or outer garment. Measuring 2 + 3 ⁄ 8 inches (60 mm) in length and 1 + 3 ⁄ 8 inches (35 mm) in width, it
234-520: The company and he left in November 2022. Varney was knighted in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to the visitor economy. Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry ; it is a part of the British honours system . Knights Bachelor are
252-526: The honorific "Sir" by virtue of their membership of the order alone, but as they are all also Knights Bachelor, they are entitled to preface their names with that title. Knights Bachelor may prefix " Sir " to their forenames, and wives of Knights may prefix "Lady" to their surnames. The award originated in the Middle Ages . There are no post-nominal letters associated with the honour nor can it be awarded to women. (They are appointed Dames Commander of
270-407: The most ancient sort of British knight (the rank existed during the 13th-century reign of King Henry III ), but Knights Bachelor rank below knights of chivalric orders. A man who is knighted is formally addressed as " Sir [First Name] [Surname]" or "Sir [First Name]" and his wife as " Lady [Surname]". The designation "Bachelor" in this context conveys the concept of "junior in rank". Knighthood
288-485: The witch trials of the mid-17th century), and the cannibal cave of Sawney Bean , based on the legend of the notorious cannibal family who resided in a cave in Galloway for decades. In 2023, for the initial seventy-five customers at each location, entry was granted in exchange for a copy of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex's memoir, "Spare." The Edinburgh Dungeon features 11 shows, 15 actors and 1 ride. Visitors are taken on
306-477: The witch trials, and includes characters such as 'The Torturer', 'The Foul Clenger' (Plague Cleaner), and 'The Judge'. Guests are encouraged to participate in all shows. The experience also includes a Drop Ride to Doom, which is a free-fall ride, staged as a public hanging. In November 2016, the Edinburgh Dungeon underwent major construction in order to expand the offering and install new show areas. In
324-538: Was founded in 2000 by Vardon Attractions (now Merlin Entertainments) founder and later CEO, Nick Varney . Based on the same concept as the London Dungeon , early characters included Vikings , William Wallace , Burke and Hare , and scenes from Edinburgh's famously plague-ridden 'closes' (alleyways). Since its opening, it has evolved to feature walkthrough theatrical shows, such as Witch Hunt (based on
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