The red turrets and towers of Dunster Castle rising up from their wooded perch is a dramatic spectacle for any visitor. Drama that is mirrored in the castle's history, more than 1,000 years of turmoil and change.

Saxons, Vikings and Celts

The Tor at Dunster has been home to a castle for more than 1000 years. During Saxon times, the spectacular hilltop location served as a frontier fortress against Celtic and Viking raiders. It is recorded in the Domesday Book as being owned by the Saxon Aelfric before 1066.

Siege

Following the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror granted Dunster to the Norman warlord William de Mohun. He and his descendants owned the castle for more than 300 hundred years.

© NTPL / John Hammond

The castle was besieged, and its garrison captured, by King Stephen in 1138 during his struggle for the throne with Matilda, daughter of his uncle Henry I.

Remnants from Mohun’s castle can still be seen today. The oldest surviving feature is the twin-towered 13th-century gateway to the Lower Ward, with its original iron-bound gates.

The Luttrells take charge

In 1376, Lady Joan de Mohun sold the castle to Lady Elizabeth Luttrell. Lady Elizabeth's descendants went on to own Dunster until the 20th century.

The castle was transformed in 1617, when George Luttrell employed William Arnold to build a Jacobean country house in the Lower Ward. The structure remains today essentially as Arnold designed it.

© NTPL / John Hammond

In 1650, Dunster’s fortifications were demolished, leaving just the house. The demolition was on the orders of Oliver Cromwell following three sieges during the Civil War. It has been claimed that the footsteps of soldiers garrisoned in the Leather Gallery at the castle can still be heard.

Refurbishment

During the 1680s, the castle was refurbished by Colonel Francis Luttrell. The fine plasterwork ceilings and a magnificent staircase that we see today were installed.

© NTPL / Nadia Mackenzie

Colonel Francis is also remembered for supporting William of Orange; when in 1688 the Dutch ruler landed at Torbay to seize the throne from James II. The regiment that Francis raised to support William is today one of the most famous in the British army – The Green Howards.

What we see today

From 1868-72, George Fownes Luttrell employed the architect Anthony Salvin to sweep away many of the 18th-century additions. He remodelled Dunster Castle to emphasise its medieval origins, and accommodate a large family and their many servants.

© NTPL / Magnus Rew