Information about Dunster

Dunster is a village in West Somerset, England, situated on the Bristol Channel coast 2.5 miles South-east of Minehead and 20 miles North-west of Taunton. Dunster was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Torre, meaning 'The Rocky Hill' from the Old English tor. The prefix 'Duns' may well be a reference to the Saxon Dunn, who held land in nearby Elworthy and Willet before 1066.

Dunster Castle is situated on a steep hill overlooking the village. Of the Norman castle, sited on what is now the keep, little remains except for the 13th century gatehouse. The present building was developed in 1617 with susequent refurbishment in the 1680s including fine platerwork ceilings and the main staircase. The castle was largely remodelled in the Victorian period.

The village has numerous restaurants and three pubs. West Street is the oldest street in the village and also a quet haven away from the high street. Here you will find three specialist shops: a florist, a kitchenware shop and a gift shop, and at the end of west street you can find the working Watermill. Dunster Beach 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 in the dykes, meadows and marshes near the shore. The beach site has a number of privately owned beach huts along with a small shop, tennis court and putting green. The village of Dunster is very popular during the summer with visitors flocking from all over to visit and sample the many tea rooms, craft shops and public houses along with Dartmoor national park.

A recent tradition is Dunster by Candlelight which takes place every year on the first Friday and Saturday in December when this remarkably preserved medieval village turns its back on the present and lights its streets with candles. To mark the beginning of the festival on Friday at 5pm, there is the Lantern Lighting Procession that starts on the Steep and continues through the village until all the lanterns in the streets have been lit. The procession of children and their families is accompanied by colourful stilt walkers in fantastic costumes who put up the lanterns. The old English Christmas tradition of burning the Ashen faggot takes place at the Luttrell Arms hotel every Christmas Eve.

Photographs of Dunster