Dunster Priory was established as a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery around 1100 in

Dunster Dunster is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, within the north-eastern boundary of Exmoor National Park. It lies on the Bristol Channel southeast of Minehead and northwest of Taunton. At the 2011 Census, it had a population ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England. The first church in Dunster was built by William de Mohun who gave the church and the

tithes A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Today, tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash or cheques or more r ...

of several manors and two fisheries, to the Benedictine Abbey at Bath. The

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

, which was situated just north of the church, became a cell of the

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

. 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 The rood screen (also choir screen, chancel screen, or jubé) is a common feature in late medieval church architecture. It is typically an ornate partition between the chancel and nave, of more or less open tracery constructed of wood, stone, or ...

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 the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. By 1291 the priory had income from lands and rents of £5 13s. 3d., and from churches and ecclesiastical dues of £13 7s. 4d. according to the ''

taxatio The ''Taxatio Ecclesiastica'', often referred to as the ''Taxatio Nicholai'' or just the ''Taxatio'', compiled in 1291–92 under the order of Pope Nicholas IV, is a detailed database valuation for ecclesiastical taxation of English, Welsh, an ...

'' of

Pope Nicholas IV Pope Nicholas IV ( la, Nicolaus IV; 30 September 1227 – 4 April 1292), born Girolamo Masci, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1288 to his death on 4 April 1292. He was the first Franciscan to be ele ...

. In 1332 it became more separated from the Abbey at Bath and became a priory in its own right. In the "

Valor Ecclesiasticus The ''Valor Ecclesiasticus'' (Latin: "church valuation") was a survey of the finances of the church in England, Wales and English controlled parts of Ireland made in 1535 on the orders of Henry VIII. It was colloquially called the Kings books, a s ...

" 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 Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. The Dunster Dovecote, on Priory Green opposite the

Tithe Barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the vi ...

, is approximately high and in diameter, with walls around thick. There are five hundred and forty nest-holes. It would originally have belonged to the priory.

Domestic pigeon The domestic pigeon (''Columba livia domestica'' or ''Columba livia'' ''forma'' ''domestica'') is a pigeon subspecies that was derived from the rock dove (also called the rock pigeon). The rock pigeon is the world's oldest domesticated bird. Me ...

s were kept to provide squabs, a luxury food from the breast meat of young pigeons. From the 12th century until 1619, only

Lords of the Manor Lord of the Manor is a title that, in Anglo-Saxon England, referred to the landholder of a rural estate. The lord enjoyed manorial rights (the rights to establish and occupy a residence, known as the manor house and demesne) as well as seigno ...

and parish priests were allowed to keep them. The

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithes. Farmers were required to give one-tenth of their produce to the established church. Tithe barns were usually associated with the vi ...

itself, a grade II

, dates from the 14th century but has been much altered and only a limited amount of the original features survive. It has a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

plan. The east front has central double doors of heavy oak with a

chamfer A chamfer or is a transitional edge between two faces of an object. Sometimes defined as a form of bevel, it is often created at a 45° angle between two adjoining right-angled faces. Chamfers are frequently used in machining, carpentry, fu ...

ed frame. The

Somerset Buildings Preservation Trust The Somerset Buildings Preservation Trust (SBPT) works to save the architectural heritage of Somerset, England. The Trust is an independent body and consists of up to 18 Trustees who hold Board meetings 3 times a year. It is a Building Preservati ...

(SBPT) has co-ordinated a £550,000 renovation project to turn it into a multi-purpose community hall under a 99-year lease at a pepper-corn rent, by the

Crown Estate Commissioners The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

who own the building. In 1346

Cleeve Abbey Cleeve Abbey is a medieval monastery located near the village of Washford, in Somerset, England. It is a Grade I listed building and has been scheduled as an ancient monument. The abbey was founded in the late twelfth century as a house for mon ...

built a nunnery in Dunster, but it was never inhabited by nuns and was used as a guest house. The former guest house of Dunster Priory, which was built in the 15th century, is now the Luttrell Arms Hotel. The priory was dissolved as part of the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539.

Burials (in the priory church)

* John de Mohun, 1st Baron Mohun (1269–1330) *

Sir Hugh Luttrell Sir Hugh Luttrell (about 1364 – 24 March 1428), of Dunster Castle in Somerset, feudal baron of Dunster, was an English nobleman and politician, who was an important military officer during the Hundred Years' War. He was a close associate of h ...

*Elizabeth Courtenay, wife of Sir James Luttrell (and daughter of

Philip Courtenay (died 1463) Sir Philip Courtenay (18 January 1404 – 16 December 1463) of Powderham, Devon, was the senior member of a junior branch of the powerful Courtenay family, Earls of Devon. Origins Courtenay was born on 18 January 1404, the eldest son and heir of ...

) *

Thomas Luttrell (died 1571) Thomas Luttrell (died 1571), of Dunster Castle in Somerset, feudal baron of Dunster, was a Member of Parliament for his family's newly enfranchised pocket borough of Minehead (two miles north-east of Dunster Castle), from 1563 to 1567 . He was ...

* George Luttrell * Thomas Luttrell (1583–1644) *

Francis Luttrell (1628–1666) Francis Luttrell (1628–1666) of Dunster Castle, Somerset, was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1656 and 1666. Origins He was baptised on 1 November 1628. He was the heir of his elder b ...

Francis Luttrell (1659–1690) Francis Luttrell (June 1659 to 25 July 1690) of Dunster Castle in Somerset was a landowner and MP for Minehead from 1679 until his death. Personal details Francis Luttrell was baptised on 16 June 1659, second son of Francis Luttrell (1628� ...

* Alexander Luttrell (1663–1711) * Henry Fownes Luttrell (died 1780) *

John Fownes Luttrell (1752–1816) John Fownes Luttrell (1752 – 16 February 1816) was an English Tory politician from Dunster Castle in Somerset. Like many previous generations of Luttrells since the 16th century, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Minehead, his family's p ...

Burials (in the priory church)

See also

References

Further reading