Dunster Steep, Dunster - 01643 821 835 NPCDunster@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk

The name Dunster derives from an earlier name Torre ("tor, rocky hill"), recorded in the Domesday Book written twenty years after the Norman conquest. The origin of the prefix is uncertain, although it may well refer to Dunn, a Saxon noble who held land in nearby Elworthy and Willett before the conquest, giving Dunestore meaning Dunn's craggy hill.

The historian David Nash Ford proposed Dunster as a possible location of the Cair Draitou listed by the History of the Britons as one of the 28 cities of Britain.

Within 2 miles (3.2 km) of the village itself are several Iron Age hillforts showing evidence of early human occupation. These include Bat's Castle and Black Ball Camp on Gallox Hill, Long Wood Enclosure and a similar earthwork on Grabbist Hill.

Dunster is mentioned as a manor and Dunster Castle as belonging to William I de Moyon (alias de Moion, also de Mohun) in the 1086 Domesday Book. After the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century, he constructed a timber castle on the site as part of the pacification of Somerset. A stone shell keep was built on the motte by the start of the 12th century, and the castle survived a siege during the early years of the Anarchy. At the end of the 14th century the de Mohuns sold the castle to the Luttrell family, who continued to occupy the property until the late 20th century. During the English Civil War, Dunster was initially held as a garrison for the Royalists. It fell to the Parliamentarians in 1645 and orders were sent out for the castle to be demolished. However, these were not carried out, and the castle remained the garrison for Parliamentarian troops until 1650. Dunster is regularly home to Taunton Garrison who re-enact plays, battles, and life in the civil war. Major alterations to the castle were undertaken by Henry Fownes Luttrell who had acquired it through marriage to Margaret Fownes-Luttrell in 1747. Following the death of Alexander Luttrell in 1944, the family was unable to afford the death duties on his estate. The castle and surrounding lands were sold off to a property firm, the family continuing to live in the castle as tenants. The Luttrells bought back the castle in 1954, but in 1976 Colonel Walter Luttrell gave Dunster Castle and most of its contents to the National Trust, which operates it as a tourist attraction. It is a Grade I listed building and scheduled monument.

Dunster Priory was established as a Benedictine monastery around 1100. The first church in Dunster was built by William de Mohun who gave the church and the tithes of several manors and two fisheries, to the Benedictine Abbey at Bath. The priory, which was situated just north of the church, became a cell of the abbey. The church was shared for worship by the monks and the parishioners, however this led to several conflicts between them. One outcome was the carved rood screen which divided the church in two with the parish using the west chancel and the monks the east. The priory church is now in parochial use as the Priory Church of St George which still contains 12th and 13th century work, although most of the current building is from the 15th century. It has been designated as a Grade I listed building. In 1332 it became more separated from the Abbey at Bath and became a priory in its own right. In the "Valor Ecclesiasticus" of 1535 the net annual income of the Dunster Tithe Barn is recorded as being £37.4.8d (£37 23p), with £6.13s7d ( £6.68p ) being passed on to the priory in Bath. In 1346 Cleeve Abbey built a nunnery in Dunster, but it was never inhabited by nuns and was used as a guest house. The priory was dissolved as part of the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. Dunster was part of the hundred of Carhampton, but St George's was the seat of the local deanery, overseeing the area's parish churches.

Dunster had become a centre for woollen and clothing production by the 13th century, with the market dating back to at least 1222, and a particular kind of kersey or broadcloth became known as 'Dunsters'. The prosperity of Dunster was based on the wool trade, with profits helping to pay for the construction of the tower of the Priory Church of St George and provide other amenities. The 15th century Gallox Bridge was one of the main routes over the River Avill on the southern outskirts. The market was held in "The Shambles" however these shops were demolished in 1825 and now only the Yarn Market remains.

Dunster Beach, which includes the mouth of the River Avill, is located half a mile from the village, and used to have a significant harbour, known as Dunster Haven, which was used for the export of wool from Saxon times; however, it was last used in the 17th century and has now disappeared, as new land was laid down among the dykes, meadows and marshes near the shore. During the Second World War, considerable defences were built along the coast as a part of British anti-invasion preparations, though the north coast of Somerset was an unlikely invasion site. Some of the structures remain to this day. Most notable are the pillboxes on the foreshore of Dunster Beach. These are strong buildings made from pebbles taken from the beach and bonded together with concrete. From these, soldiers could have held their ground if the Germans had ever invaded. The beach site has a number of privately owned beach huts (or chalets as some owners call them) along with a small shop, a tennis court and a putting green. The chalets, measuring 18 by 14 feet (5.5 by 4.3 m), can be let out for holidays; some owners live in them all the year round.