Dunster Priory was established as a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery around 1100 in

Dunster Dunster is a village that is home to Celtu 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, ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, 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. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in cash, cheques or via onli ...

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. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

, 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 Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

. 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, o ...

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 is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. 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'' of

Pope Nicholas IV Pope Nicholas IV (; born Girolamo Masci; 30 September 1227 – 4 April 1292) 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 elected pope.McBrie ...

. 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, ...

" 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 ...

, 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'' Form (zoology), forma ''domestica'') is a pigeon subspecies that was derived from the rock dove, rock dove or rock pigeon. The rock pigeon is the world's oldest domesticated ...

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 and Norman England, referred to the landholder of a historical rural estate. The titles date to the English Feudalism, feudal (specifically English feudal barony, baronial) system. The ...

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 ...

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 A cruciform is a physical manifestation resembling a common cross or Christian cross. These include architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described as having a cruciform ...

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

chamfer A chamfer ( ) 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, fur ...

ed frame. The

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

(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 who own the building. In 1346 Cleeve Abbey 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 *Elizabeth Courtenay, wife of Sir James Luttrell (and daughter of Philip Courtenay (died 1463)) * Thomas Luttrell (died 1571) * George Luttrell * Thomas Luttrell (1583–1644) * Francis Luttrell (1628–1666) * Francis Luttrell (1659–1690) *

Alexander Luttrell (1663–1711) Alexander Luttrell (20 October 1663 – 22 September 1711) was an English people, English army officer and politician. He was the third son of Francis Luttrell (1628–1666), Francis Luttrell (1628–1666) of Dunster Castle. His mother Lucy w ...

* Henry Fownes Luttrell (died 1780) * John Fownes Luttrell (1752–1816)

Burials (in the priory church)

See also

References

Further reading