Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo-Saxon period. After the Norman conquest of England in the 11th century, William de Mohun 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. The castle was expanded several times by the Luttrell family during the 17th and 18th centuries; they built a large manor house within the Lower Ward of the castle in 1617, and this was extensively modernised, first during the 1680s and then during the 1760s. The medieval castle walls were mostly destroyed following the siege of Dunster Castle at the end of the English Civil War, when Parliament ordered the defences to be slighted to prevent their further use. In the 1860s and 1870s, the architect Anthony Salvin was employed to remodel the castle to fit Victorian tastes; this work extensively changed the appearance of Dunster to make it appear more Gothic and Picturesque. 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. Today Dunster Castle is operated by the National Trust as a tourist attraction. Little remains of the medieval castle except for the Great Gatehouse and the remains of several towers in the Lower Ward; the heart of the modern castle today is the much altered 17th-century manor house. The key features of the castle include the original 13th-century gates and several pieces of art, including a Tudor copy of Hans Eworth's famous allegorical portrait of Sir John Luttrell, and a sequence of leather tapestries showing scenes from the story of Antony and Cleopatra. The castle also holds a piano that once belonged to the composer Vivian Ellis. The gardens surrounding the castle cover approximately 6 hectares (15 acres) and include the National Plant Collection of Strawberry Trees; the wider parkland beyond totals 277 hectares (680 acres). Just to the south of the castle is the restored 18th-century castle watermill. In 2017 the castle received 209,245 visitors. Dunster Castle has been designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building and Scheduled Ancient Monument. The castle has required continuing maintenance work, in particular to its roof, itself an important historical feature. Efforts have been made to gradually redecorate the castle in a period style, using reproductions of original wallpapers and materials. The National Trust installed solar panels behind the battlements on the roof in 2008 to provide electricity and make the premises more environmentally friendly. This was the first time the National Trust have taken this approach to a Grade I listed building, and it is expected to save 1,714 kg (3,778 lb) of carbon a year. In 2015, the National Trust announced plans to make the 19th-century reservoir open to the public.

Parking, 300 yards, £4.50 per day, free for members with car sticker Free parking in designated spaces for Blue Badge holders. Adult: gift aid £12.80, standart £11.60 Child: gift aid £6.40, standart £5.80 - Family: gift aid £31.90 , standard £29.00 - One adult: gift aid £20.50, standard £18.60 - Group Adult (Minimum group size 15): standart £10.70 dunstercastle@nationaltrust.org.uk Wheelchair-accessible transfer and drop-off point