From the BBC Website, 22nd May 2006

Castle begins major roof repairs

A £400,000 project to re-roof a third of Dunster Castle in West Somerset is getting under way. Scaffolding, which will cover part of the west and east fronts and arch over the whole building to encompass the roof, is currently being erected.

The castle, more than 1,000 years old, has suffered with roof leaks and its contents and fabric are threatened. Among the vulnerable items and areas are the leather hangings in the Leather Gallery and King Charles' Bedroom.

The National Trust's project will involve removing one third of the lead roof to judge whether it needs to be redesigned before a new roof is installed. The company appointed to carry out the new lead work will be required to use the opportunity to train apprentices on historic lead roof work and the trust is keen to use the project to help develop heritage building skills.

Roof-top view

A new exhibition in the Leather Gallery will explain the work and offer visitors more detail on the history of the covered hangings, as well as the history of the King Charles Room. Four rooms - the Billiard Room, Justice Room, Library and Drawing Room, will be presented with an evening feel with appropriate lighting and curtains drawn to give an impression of how the rooms were used in the past.

"We are delighted that this project to safeguard the Castle and its contents is getting under way," said William Wake, Property Manager for Dunster Castle. As part of the project, we are planning to allow visitors to ascend to the roof to watch the work from walkways as the roof is peeled back and, at a later point, as the lead work is carried out to create a new roof," he said.

The project which is scheduled to take 12 months, is being jointly financed by English Heritage and the National Trust.

From “Somerset Castles” by Robert W. Dunning, 1995.

In the long western projection of Somerset, which runs along the Bristol Channel and slopes up into Exmoor, there has always been one predominant family - the Mohuns, from the Conquest down to 1376, and the Luttrells, their successors, from 1376 down to this day. It is an almost unparalleled thing (though compare Berkeley) to find a castle, like Dunster, which has only changed hands once, otherwise than by inheritance, since its first erection. We may add that it would be equally hard to find another castle fitting in so well with a scene of sylvan beauty as this. Others, like Harlech or Caer Cynan, may stand on sites higher, more precipitous and more majestic, but Dunster, rising from its curtain of woods above its little river presents a silhouette of towers and gables against the northern sky which cannot be excelled for grace. And it is equally effective when seen, not from the river and meadow below, but from the high street of the quaint little town which struggles up the slope towards its lowest entry. It makes a perfect foreground, from which stand out the wooded ascent to its gatehouse and the cluster of towers far above the tree tops.

William the Conqueror gave to William de Moion, a baron from the Cotentin, a great cluster of manors in West Somerset, as well as many others in Devon and Dorset. But his chief seat was on the Tor where Dunster Castle stands: "William of Mohun holds Torre and there is his castle," says Domesday Book. The Tor was the isolated circular final spur of a ridge (Grabbist Hill), which runs west towards Exmoor. Its slope drops suddenly towards the town below and the end of the shore-plain of Somerset. It is cut off by a broad depression from the main length of the ridge to which it belongs, so as to form, by its natural situation, a most eligible site for a Norman castle of the early type. The point of the Tor made a perfect motte, without any need for artificial piling of earth. It is a small flat area, 35ft by 70ft, round whose edge a palisade of timber from the woods below could easily be drawn. The outer bailey was formed on a broad ledge half-way down the slope of the Tor, about 125 yards long by 33 yards broad. Below this ledge, the hillside gets very steep again, so that there is a sharp fall towards the town at its foot. All that was needed to make the Tor-fortress practically impregnable was to scarp the already precipitous slopes of its summit on all sides. Leaving space for a descent to the lower ward by means of a path, or perhaps steps, on the only section which was not cut into sheer impracticability. The same could be done, with almost equal ease, for the lower ward, both of whose flanks were very steep, the only comparatively easy section of the slope being blocked by a palisade with the entrance gate in its centre. This was somewhere above the spot where the present gate-house stands.

Nothing could be more formidable but, of course, the later Mohuns, like all their contemporaries, replaced palisading with stone, which was easily procurable on all sides. The ring on top of the tor became a shell-keep. The ledge on which the lower ward stood was walled, or rather its edge was cut into a low cliff, with retaining walls and a parapet above, from which (no doubt later) projecting towers to give flanking fire were thrown out. It seems likely that all the residential chambers and offices of the castle were in the lower ward - chapel, hall, kitchen, etc., as there is absolutely no trace of inner buildings within the shell-keep on top of the Tor.

The most prominent man in the annals of this family, whose castle dominated all Western Somerset and whose lands were scattered so broadly over it, was the third William de Mohun, a contemporary of Kings Henry I and Stephen. He was a furious supporter of the Empress Matilda in the Civil Wars and made himself odious by his reckless plundering and burning, so that he was known as the " Scourge of the West." His mistress would appear to have conferred on him the title of Earl of Somerset, in 1141, and he employed it in a Charter which he issued to the priory of Bruton. It was never recognised by Stephen or Henry II, however, as were some other of Matilda's creations, and the later Mohuns did not employ it. Some would attribute to this William, the building in stone of the shell-keep of Dunster and the earliest stone walls of the lower ward, but their date, since they have almost entirely disappeared, is very problematical. It is safe, however, to place the credit of the projecting towers in the curtain of the lower ward to a much later generation, the Mohuns of the time of Henry III.

Their house died out in direct male line, in 1376, and the widow and daughters of the last Baron sold Dunster to Lady Elizabeth Luttrell, widow of Sit Andrew Luttrell of Chilton, and daughter of the Earl of Devon. From her, descend the second dynasty of owners of the castle, who have now held it for five centuries and a half continuously. It was an early Luttrell, probably just before or soon after 1400, who built the imposing gate-house, which stands well outside the lower ward, as an additional defence to it, joined up to it by walls. This is a very large quadrangular structure, 63ft broad by 23ft deep, in three storeys. Over its front arch is an interesting carved panel with nine heraldic shields, showing the arms of Luttrell impaled with those of Courtenay and other famous baronial houses. It contains two storeys of rather handsome rooms, instead of the usual portcullis chamber, for it does not seem to have possessed that usual fitting of castle gates. The inner gateway of the ward, a smaller but more elaborately ornamental structure, is a square between four turrets of polygonal shape, much pierced with arrow-slits and much crenellated. It is quite a century older than the outer and larger gate-house below, and may go back to the time of Edward I.

The main front of the residential buildings, in the lower ward, is largely Elizabethan, built by George Luttrell in 1589 - his shield is above the central door. He must have pulled down much medieval work when erecting his own: for, while scraps of inner and outer walls belonging to older buildings are incorporated in his masonry, there are traces of foundations of vanished blocks outside the circuit of the existing residence. By this time, the upper ward, or shell-keep, on the top of the Tor must have been completely deserted. For already half a century earlier, Leland (a great admirer of Dunster) had remarked that the donjon above "hath been full of goodly buildings, but now there is only a chapel in good case, which of late days Sir Hugh Luttrell [temp. Henry VII] did repair."

There is now, not a trace of this chapel or of any other old building, or indeed of the ring-wall, on top of the Tor, which is levelled into a grass plot, with a summer house or gazebo of small dimensions on one edge of it. The clearing away of such medieval stones as may have survived is attributed to an eighteenth century Luttrell, who disliked scraps of ruins, and wanted a bowling green and a fine view over hill and dale.

Dunster, like most other West Country and Welsh castles, had its times of trouble in the great Civil War, but came through them more easily than most of its equals. The Luttrells of the day were not Royalists, but their castle was seized and held by a Royalist garrison throughout the War, down to the great collapse in 1646, after Hopton's defeat at Torrington. It was then besieged by Blake, who lay before it for some time, battering it with guns placed in the town below. The attack against such a precipitous place was not easy or effective, but the Governor, Colonel Wyndham, surrendered in April, when all the neighbouring Royalist strongholds were also hauling down their flags in despair at the general collapse of their party. For the western field-army had laid down its arms in March. Though Dunster did not belong to a "Malignant," it was put into the general list of fortresses to be "slighted" but the order was carried out without little zeal. No doubt in consideration for the owner. Probably, some holes were blown in the curtain wall of the lower ward - conceivably the decayed walls on the Tor may have been cast down, but neither the inner nor the outer gate-houses, the real strength of the castle, appear to have suffered much.

The later Luttrells, as was natural, devoted themselves to making their castle more comely and comfortable, rather than to restoring its military strength. They made a circular carriage drive, by which the front door of the main building could be reached without passing under the great gate-house, which no coach could have got through. They levelled a broad stretch of ground in front of the house, where their carriage drive ended, burying under the new gravel many traces of medieval foundations. They also levelled the top of the Tor and they cut many windows on ill-lighted parts of the older buildings. The last changes were made in Victorian days by the architect Salvin, who added to the Elizabethan buildings, built a new tower and reconstructed the exterior of much of the east front in the Gothic revival style. On the whole, the eighteenth and nineteenth century alterations have not destroyed the general effect of the mass of buildings and they have certainly rendered them more habitable. The castle remains the greatest baronial survival of the West Country and the most romantic and picturesque of all the old strongholds of Wessex.

Some postcards of Dunster Castle from my collection.

More postcards from my collection.

More postcards from my collection.

... and more.

Dunster Castle in 1880

Dunster Castle in 1769.

Bucks' print of 1733, of which the 1769 print is a rough copy.

From the Somerset County Gazette, 20th March 2007

Castle invites visitors to the roof

Visitors with a head for heights are being offered the chance to climb the giddy heights to the roof of Dunster Castle to see the progresses of restoration work. The major project got under way last year when workmen started to peel back lead covering after water leaked into the roof void and rooms underneath, causing paint to peel away, brickwork to crumble to dust and floorboards to rot.

Owner the National Trust has erected a huge scaffold over the west and east fronts of the castle, which spans the whole building to encompass the roof. As well as protecting the roof while the work takes place, it will also allow visitors to the castle to ascend to the roof at certain times to see the project at close hand.

Liz Cope, visitor services manager at the castle, said: "We will be providing information about the project and opportunities to see the work close up. Visitors this spring will have a grandstand view of this major historic roofing project. Weather permitting, we will be running regular escorted tours up to the roof every Wednesday to give visitors a behind-the-scenes look at how the Trust approaches huge conservation projects such as these."

From the BBC Website, 13th August 2007

Castle's roof repair cost doubles

The cost of restoring an historic castle's roof has more than doubled after initial investigations revealed problems with rainwater run off. Work began on the £400,000 project at Dunster Castle, Somerset, in May 2006. Since then the cost of the job has risen to an estimated £900,000.

Structural changes to the mansion in the 19th Century failed to make adequate gullies and guttering. Infestations of deathwatch beetles were also discovered in the roof space.

In keeping with Victorian fashion, the Jacobean house was transformed into a Gothic mansion complete with crenellations. Too few downspouts were added, so over time water seeped into the roof structure.

"We have awarded a contract for a firm to come onto the site from September and the job is due to finish in summer next year," said Stephen Hayes, property administrator at Dunster Castle. "At the moment it looks like a huge warehouse in the sky - it has a corrugated roof," he added.

The castle was due to see the scaffolding poles removed in a few weeks but will not now be free from building works until summer 2008. The restoration of the roof is being jointly funded by the National Trust and English Heritage.

The castle, more than 1,000 years old, has suffered from leaks in its roof and now its contents and fabric are threatened. Among the vulnerable items and areas are the leather hangings in the Leather Gallery and King Charles' Bedroom.

Two old postcards of Dunster Castle, recently added to my collection. The first is postmarked 1921, whilst the second is postmarked 1909.

From the BBC Website, 5th February 2008

Solar panels power historic house

Solar panels that could generate up to 20% of the electricity needed at the Grade I listed Dunster Castle in Somerset have been switched on. A number of National Trust properties use renewable energy but the trust said it was the first Grade I listed building to be given the technology.

The panels are easily removable and are not visible from the ground. The £55,000 scheme will not pay for itself financially but is expected to save about £550 per annum.

A National Trust spokesman said the panels at Dunster Castle demonstrated how renewable energy could be harvested even on conservation sites without affecting their character.

"We want all of our properties, wherever appropriate, to examine the option of using renewable energy sources and we hope to help other people and businesses to do the same," he added.

Dunster Castle was owned by the Luttrell family for some 600 years before being given to the National Trust in 1976.




From Channel 4 News Website, 6th February 2008

Castle gets solar panel technology

Solar panels have been switched on at the National Trust's first Grade I listed property to have them installed. The photo-voltaic (PV) panels placed on the roof of Dunster Castle in Somerset will generate around 15% to 20% of the electricity used at the historic house which was once owned by the Luttrell family, staff said.

A number of the National Trust's properties have already had micro-generation renewables such as solar panels installed, but Dunster is the first Grade I - the most protected - to have the technology. Because of the listed building constraints, the panels are sited on a specially-designed steel frame which makes them easily removable, and they are not visible from the ground, the Trust said.

The installation is part of a three-year carbon reduction project at the castle, which also includes "easy" actions such as turning off lights in empty rooms and longer-term goals including hydropower for the Dunster water mill and biomass heating for the stable block. It is calculated that the 24 panels on the eastern roof will generate 5,500 kilowatt-hours a year, saving around 3,000kg of carbon dioxide annually and paying back the carbon footprint of the frame and technology in around four years.

The £55,000 scheme was funded by Barclays, which contributed £30,000; the Government's Low Carbon Buildings Programme, which provided £15,000 and the National Trust, which gave £10,000. The panels will not pay for themselves financially, delivering around £550 in electricity bill savings a year, but the property's administrator Stephen Hayes said the move was more about raising awareness.

"The National Trust philosophy at the moment is to drive towards looking at the environment and improving our environmental performance as an organisation and inspire others to do the same," he said.

There has been a stronghold at the site near Minehead for more than 1,000 years, although the current dramatic Dunster Castle was extensively remodelled in the 19th Century. It was owned by the Luttrell family for some 600 years before being given to the National Trust in 1976.

A picture from The Metro, 7th February 2008.

From the BBC Website, 13th May 2008

Castle used as artists' backdrop

Scaffolding used in the restoration of a Somerset castle is to become the backdrop for new pieces of art. The large-scale paintings, by students at West Somerset Community college, will adorn the scaffolding at Dunster Castle over the summer.

Themed as "viewpoints", the works depict the teenagers' interpretations of the subconscious. The students' artwork will be accompanied by information about the castle's paintings.

"This exhibition is a wonderful opportunity for the students to display their work to a national and worldwide audience," said Jim Lee, learning officer for the castle. "The college has brought a splash of surreal colour, imagery and intense, thought-provoking, comments to an otherwise prosaic metal canvas," he added.