A HISTORY OF 
 
 DUNSTER
 
 A HISTORY OF 
 
 D UNST ER
 
 X i^i^Ceer^ 
 
 JJS(^
 
 A HISTORY OF 
 
 D U N ST E R 
 
 AND OF THE FAMILIES OF 
 MOHUN & LUTTRELL 
 
 BY 
 
 SIR H.C.MAXWELL LYTE,K.C.B. 
 
 Deputy Keeper of the Records. 
 
 PART I 
 
 I L LUSTRA TED 
 
 LONDON 
 THE ST. CATHERINE PRESS LTD 
 
 8 YORK BUILDINGS, ADELPHI 
 1909 
 
 .(^^ 
 
 d
 
 PREFACE 
 
 In 1880 and 1881, I contributed to the Archoeo- 
 logical Journal a series of papers on ' Dunster and its 
 Lords, ' which were afterwards reprinted for private 
 circulation, together with a descriptive sketch of 
 Dunster Castle by the late Mr. G. T. Clark, and a 
 chapter on the Siege and Surrender of Dunster Castle 
 by Mr. E. Green. In the years that have since 
 elapsed, I have collected a great deal of fresh material, 
 and I have now thrown the result of my researches 
 into a different form, re-writing the book from 
 beginning to end and enlarging it threefold. 
 
 The successive owners of the Castle have always 
 been so predominant in Dunster that I have again 
 made the general history of the place centre in the 
 Mohuns and Luttrells. It has, however, seemed 
 expedient to devote a separate chapter to the Castle 
 in which they dwelt, and another to the remarkable 
 church in which the parishioners worshipped. 
 
 In view of the growing interest in the history of 
 economics and social life, I have written an entirely 
 new chapter on the Borough and the Manor, mainly 
 based upon the court-rolls. A chapter on the topo- 
 graphy of Dunster may be of some local interest. 
 As the parish comprises the manors of Avill, Staunton 
 and Alcombe, and the reputed manor of Foremarsh, 
 or at any rate the greater part of them, I have traced 
 their respective histories briefly, but without any
 
 VI PREFACE 
 
 attempt to give biographies of their successive owners. 
 The accounts of different branches of the families of 
 Mohun and Luttrell not directly connected with 
 Dunster printed in the Appendixes were intended to 
 be mere genealogical outlines, but they have extended 
 to such a length that I have, at the last moment, 
 found it desirable to divide the book into two parts, 
 paged consecutively. 
 
 A few words must be said with regard to the 
 original authorities upon which this volume is based, 
 although no explanation is necessary in the case of 
 printed books, or of MSS. in the Public Record 
 Office, the British Museum, the College of Arms, 
 the Lambeth Library, and other great collections. 
 Much of my material has been derived from the 
 muniments at Dunster Castle, which are very rich in 
 conveyances of land, court-rolls, and other documents 
 relating to the estate. They were arranged in thirty- 
 eight boxes by William Prynne, the celebrated 
 controversialist, during his imprisonment at Dunster 
 Castle in the middle of the seventeenth century, and 
 his general catalogue of them was afterwards much 
 improved by Narcissus Luttrell, a man of some liter- 
 ary repute. In the footnotes to the present work, the 
 muniments at Dunster Castle are indicated by the 
 letters — D. C. M., followed by the number of the 
 box and by that of the particular document quoted. 
 
 When using manuscripts in the same collection 
 subsequent to 1650, I have not been able to give 
 specific references, the classification of them being as 
 yet incomplete. Most of these later manuscripts 
 relate to land or to matters of business, almost all 
 the old family correspondence having been long since 
 destroyed as useless. The preservation of numerous 
 letters and papers concerning elections for the parlia-
 
 PREFACE VII 
 
 mentary borough of Minehead may have been due 
 to an idea that they might furnish precedents. 
 
 There was, in the eighteenth century, a collection 
 of nearly a hundred medieval documents in Dunster 
 Church, relating to the rights of the burgesses and 
 the endovi^ments of the local chantries. Many of 
 the more important of them have disappeared, a 
 former incumbent of the parish having apparently 
 considere;i himself free to do what he would with 
 such things. A century ago, a well-known antiquary 
 unblushingly referred to some of the originals as 
 being in his own possession ; one of them has found 
 its way to the Castle. The former contents of one 
 of the three ancient chests in the Church are now 
 represented by a volume of indifferent transcripts 
 made in 171 6, which is in the possession of Mr. 
 Luttrell. I have referred to this as D. C. B. 
 
 In June 1908, when the earlier part of the present 
 book had been already printed, there was offered 
 for sale by auction in London, a folio volume of 
 170 leaves of parchment catalogued as " Cartularium 
 et jeodarium Dominorum de Mohun'" } On inspection, 
 this proved to be a fragment of the important com- 
 pilation made, in 1350, by John Osberne, Constable 
 of Dunster Castle, as mentioned on page 49 and 
 elsewhere. The originals of many of the documents 
 transcribed into it had disappeared before Prynne's 
 time, but it is interesting to note that such of them 
 as still remain in Mr. Luttrell's muniment-room are 
 endorsed " irrotulatur^ " in evidence that they had 
 been duly entered in the cartulary. I was not so 
 fortunate as to secure this manuscript at the sale, and 
 I have not been able to obtain direct access to it since. 
 
 • Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge's Catalogue of the Phillipps Collection, 
 Lot 545.
 
 VIII PREFACE 
 
 The present owner, however, who wishes to remain 
 anonymous, has very kindly supplied me with full 
 transcripts of some of its contents, notably the treatise 
 on agriculture mentioned on page 321, and the 
 agreement between the monks and the parishioners 
 of Dunster mentioned on page 393. I take this op- 
 portunity of thanking him. 
 
 The volume mentioned above, contains one passage 
 which I have quoted in Latin (page 351) from a 
 series of extracts made by Richard St. George, Norroy 
 King of Arms, in 1610, when the cartulary belonged 
 to Sir Reynold Mohun of Boconnoc. The remainder 
 of St. George's extracts, to which I have occasionally 
 referred, came from leaves which are now unfortun- 
 ately missing. 
 
 Some particulars about the foundation of Newen- 
 ham Abbey given in Chapter I, are taken from a 
 transcript kindly lent to me by the late Mr. John 
 Brooking Rowe, of Plympton, of a register of that 
 monastery in the Phillipps Library at Thirlestaine 
 House, Cheltenham. 
 
 Another manuscript source of information has been 
 a " Historical account of the family of the Lutterells, 
 from the Conquest, collected from records, history, 
 pedigrees and registers, by Narcissus Luttrell, Esq. " 
 This is a collection of notes arranged in successive 
 reigns down to 1729, which have in some cases 
 guided me to original authorities, and in other cases 
 supplied genealogical particulars about the younger 
 branches of the Luttrell family. The manuscript 
 was at one time the property of Dr. Luttrell Wynne, 
 grandson of the compiler's sister, and it seems to 
 have passed to Mr. Edward W. Stackhouse, whose 
 heir, Mr. W. C. Pendarves very appropriately gave 
 it to the present owner of Dunster Castle.
 
 PREFACE IX 
 
 Mr. E. Green has again kindly permitted me to 
 reprint, with some trifling verbal alterations, his 
 paper on the Siege and Surrender of Dunster Castle. 
 It is now incorporated with my own text, and 
 divided into two sections, extending respectively from 
 page 1 80 to page 182, and from page 187 to page 
 194. I am much indebted to him in the matter. 
 
 In quoting from documents written in Latin or 
 French, I have translated as literally as circumstances 
 would permit, giving any interesting or doubtful 
 words in the original language. In English quota- 
 tions, I have, through the force of habit, retained the 
 old spelling, while extending abbreviations and punc- 
 tuating according to sense. Dates between the i st of 
 January and the 25th of March, the old beginning of 
 the year, have been given throughout according to 
 modern practise. 
 
 I have not thought it necessary to cumber my 
 pages, already too full of the names of obscure per- 
 sons, with lists of the owners of property at Dunster 
 at different periods. My friend Mr. Hancock, the 
 present Vicar of the parish, has printed lists of the 
 churchwardens and overseers, copies of epitaphs, and 
 extracts from the local registers. His monograph on 
 the Church and Priory has been constantly by my 
 side, but I have been constrained to differ from him 
 on some historical points and in the interpretation of 
 various documents. 
 
 Most of the full-page illustrations that appeared in 
 my former book were printed from stones long since 
 destroyed. In place of them, there is now a much 
 larger series of illustrations, executed by photographic 
 processes of the Swan Engraving Company and 
 others. The view of the Gateway of the Lower Ward 
 (p. 351) is from a negative by Miss Luttrell. All
 
 X PREFACE 
 
 the others are from my own negatives of landscapes, 
 buildings, portraits and other objects. The Earl of 
 Mount Edgcumbe very kindly sent the great Luttrell 
 carpet from Cotehele to Dunster, so that it might 
 be examined and photographed. The woodcuts of the 
 Mohun and Luttrell Seals were drawn, in 1880, by 
 my wife and the late Professor Delamotte, for the 
 Archceo logical Journal. 
 
 Mr. Luttrell has not only given me every facility 
 for consulting his manuscripts and for taking photo- 
 graphs in the Castle, but has also shown a continual and 
 appreciative interest in my work. Mr. J. H. Davis, 
 his sub-agent, has also been very helpful, especially 
 with regard to the topography of the town. While 
 dealing with difficult architectural problems connected 
 with the Church, I have received many valuable 
 suggestions from Mr. W. H. St. John Hope, Mr. F. 
 Bligh Bond, and Mr. F. C. Eeles. To Mr. W. A. 
 Lindsay, Windsor Herald, and Mr. Everard Green, 
 Rougedragon Pursuivant, I am indebted for access to 
 manuscripts in the College of Arms. Other friends 
 have helped me in various ways, and I cannot con- 
 clude without expressing my thanks to several of my 
 colleagues at the Public Record Office, especially 
 Mr. Harley Rodney, who has examined the proof 
 sheets. 
 
 3 PoRTMAN Square. 
 
 March 1909. H. C. M. L.
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Dunster is situate in the Hundred of Carhampton, 
 in the western division of the county of Somerset, 
 162 miles from London, 22 from Taunton, and 15 
 from the confines of Devonshire. The parish is 
 bounded on the north by the Bristol Channel, on the 
 east and south by the parishes of Carhampton, Lux- 
 borough, Timberscombe, and Wootton Courtenay, 
 and on the west by that of Minehead. It contains 
 2870 acres, of which about a third are uncultivated. 
 The rateable value is 4933/. 
 
 A ridge known anciently as Grobfast, and now as 
 Grabbist, rises in the parish to a height of 760 feet 
 above the sea, while the rich pastures below are only 
 a few feet above the level of high tide. The little 
 town of Dunster stands on a saddleback, sheltered on 
 the south by the hanging woods and the heathery 
 uplands of the Park, on the west by the steep slopes 
 of Grabbist, and on the north by those of Conygar, 
 where oaks and hollies have taken the place of rough 
 pasture frequented by rabbits. At the southeastern 
 extremity of the town is the isolated, conical hill 
 known as the ' Tor ', for centuries crowned by the 
 defensive works of a mighty castle. 
 
 The views from the higher ground in the parish 
 of Dunster are remarkable for their beauty and variety. 
 Although comparatively circumscribed on the south by 
 a bare spur of the Brendon Hills, they extend westward
 
 XII INTRODUCTION 
 
 up the rich vale of Avill to Dunkery, the highest 
 point of Exmoor, and one of the highest points in 
 the west of England. On the north, they command 
 a long stretch of the Welsh Coast, backed by the 
 Brecon Beacons and other mountains. Eastward, they 
 range over a great expanse of sea and land, the Flat 
 Holmes, the Steep Holmes, Brean Down at the end 
 of the Mendip Hills, the alabaster cliffs near Watchet, 
 and the long line of the Quantocks, being prominent 
 features in the landscape. 
 
 The parish is traversed by a clear stream descending 
 from Exmoor, formerly known as the Dunster River, 
 but now usually called the Avill, which supplied 
 motive power for several grist-mills, and for various 
 fulling-mills now disused. Numerous rills flowing 
 out of it irrigate the rich meadows on either side. 
 In the lower part of its course, the main stream is 
 now the boundary between the parishes of Dunster 
 and Carhampton. After winding its way through 
 alluvial land near Marsh, it discharges into the Bristol 
 Channel by the Hawn, the ancient haven of Dunster, 
 frequently mentioned in medieval documents, but 
 now silted up. 
 
 The site of Dunster must have been known to the 
 Roman colonists of Britain, for some copper coins of 
 the reigns of Maximian and Constantine were found, 
 about 1863, in the Park, close to the former highway 
 from Gallocks Cross to Carhampton. Its recorded 
 history, however, does not begin before the time of 
 Edward the Confessor, when it belonged to a certain 
 ^Ifric (Aluric), who also held Broadwood, Avill, and 
 Bratton, in the immediate neighbourhood. All these 
 places were bestowed by William the Conqueror 
 upon William de Moion, one of his Norman followers, 
 the first of a long series of feudal barons.
 
 INTRODUCTION xiii 
 
 The site of William de Moion's castle is described 
 in the Exchequer Domesday as ' Torre ', and in the 
 Exeter Domesday as ' Torra '. In a charter granted 
 by him to the monks of Bath, between the years 
 1090 and 1 1 00, the place is called ' Dunestore' and 
 ' Donesthorra '. The second part of the compounded 
 name indicates a projecting rock, like the Tors of 
 Devonshire and Derbyshire. The origin of the first 
 part of the name is less certain. Inasmuch as the 
 place is never called Duntor, or Dunetor, any inter- 
 pretation must take account of the ' s ' or ' es ' vv^hich 
 alv^^ays precedes the final syllable. Tv^o alternatives 
 seem possible. Dunster may have been the ' tor ' of 
 the dunes, or hills ; or it may have been the ' tor ' of a 
 man named Dun. In support of the latter theory, it 
 may be observed that among the estates granted to 
 William de Moion by the Conqueror were one at 
 Exford which had belonged to Domno or Donnus, 
 and another at Elworthy which had belonged to 
 Dunne or Dunna. 
 
 Ecclesiastically, Dunster is in the Archdeaconry 
 of Taunton, and it gives its name to the Deanery of 
 which it is the chief place. Its cruciform church is, 
 from an architectural point of view, the most impor- 
 tant in the neighbourhood. The parish comprises 
 the ancient manors of Dunster, Avill, Staunton and 
 Alcombe, and part of the reputed manor of Foremarsh. 
 The population, which was 772 in 1801, had risen 
 to 1 1 84 by 1 85 1, since which time it has been 
 practically stationary. The local woollen industry 
 being extinct, most of the inhabitants are connected 
 with agriculture. There are various shops in the 
 town of Dunster, and a few at Alcombe. 
 
 ««
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 The Mohuns of Dunster, 1066- 1404 .... i 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 The early Luttrells, 1191-1403 ..... 59 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Luttrells of Chilton and Dunster, 1 337-1 485 . . 75 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Luttrells of Dunster, 1485-1551 .... 129 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Luttrells of Dunster, 1 551-1644 . . . . 166 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Luttrells of Dunster, 1644- 17 37 . . . . i86 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The Fownes Luttrells of Dunster, 1 737-1 780. . . 225 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Fownes Luttrells of Dunster, 17 80- 1908. . . 262 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Borough and the Manor of Dunster . . . 276
 
 XVI CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The topography of Dunster ...... 329 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 Dunster Castle 349 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Dunster Church and Priory . . . . . . 383 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Manor of Avill 434 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Manor of Staunton ...... 443 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The Manor of Alcombe 455 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Lower Marsh ........ 458 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 The Mohuns of Ham Mohun in Dorset . 
 The Mohuns of Fleet in Dorset 
 The Mohuns of Hall and Boconnoc in Cornwall 
 The Mohuns of Tavistock .... 
 Some Mohuns not placed .... 
 
 469 
 472 
 
 477 
 495 
 497 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 The Arms and Seals of the Mohuns .... 498 
 
 APPENDIX C. 
 
 The Luttrells of Irnham in Lincolnshire .... 505 
 
 The Luttrells of East Down in Devonshire and Spaxton in 
 
 Somerset . . . . . . . . 510 
 
 The Luttrells of Honibere in Somerset and Hartland 
 
 Abbey in Devonshire . . . . . . 513
 
 CONTENTS XVII 
 
 APPENDIX C. (CONT.) 
 
 The Luttrells of Saunton Court in Devonshire, and their 
 
 descendants. ...... 
 
 John Luttrell of Mapperton in Dorset and his descendants 
 The Luttrells of Rodhuish in Somerset . 
 Alexander Fownes Luttrell (i) and his descendants . 
 Francis Fownes Luttrell and his descendants . 
 Alexander Fownes Luttrell (2) and his descendants . 
 
 518 
 530 
 531 
 534 
 535 
 536 
 
 APPENDIX D. 
 
 The Luttrells of Luttrellstown near Dublin . , . 539 
 
 APPENDIX E. 
 
 The Arms and Seals of the Luttrells . . . . 54 ^ 
 
 APPENDIX F. 
 
 List of the Priors of Dunster. . . . . . 552 
 
 List of the Vicars and Curates of Dunster . . . 553 
 
 ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS . . 5 56 
 
 GENERAL INDEX . . . 56 1
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PLATES. 
 
 Sir John Luttrell. 
 
 Dunster Castle, from the river 
 
 Joan, Lady de Mohun, and Philippa, Duchess of 
 
 (after Stothard) .... 
 Effigies of Sir Hugh Luttrell and his wife 
 Arms of Sir James Luttrell . 
 Dame Elizabeth Luttrell 
 Arms of Sir Andrew Luttrell 
 George Luttrell ..... 
 Col. Francis Luttrell .... 
 Mary Luttrell (Lady Bancks) 
 Anne Luttrell (Mrs. Pleydell) 
 
 Dorothy Luttrell 
 
 Alexander Luttrell .... 
 Margaret Fownes Luttrell (Mrs. Southcote) 
 Mary Drewe (Mrs. Fownes Luttrell) 
 John Fownes Luttrell . 
 George Fownes Luttrell 
 Dunster, from the Hanger 
 The Grist-mill, Dunster 
 The High Street, Dunster 
 Overmantels, Dunster . 
 
 To face title. 
 6 
 York, 
 
 54 
 104 
 120 
 130 
 
 137 
 176 
 206 
 215 
 221 
 222 
 224 
 261 
 269 
 271 
 275 
 285 
 
 327 
 330 
 333
 
 XX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Luttrell Arms Hotel, Dunster, the entrance . 
 
 A cottage doorway, St. George's Street, Dunster 
 
 Gallocks bridge, Dunster 
 
 A cottage doorway. Water Street, Dunster 
 
 Map of the town of Dunster . 
 
 Gateway of the Lower Ward, Dunster Castle 
 
 Plan of the Gatehouse, Dunster Castle . 
 
 The Gatehouse, Dunster Castle, from below 
 
 South-west view of Dunster Castle. 
 
 The Stables, Dunster Castle . 
 
 The Great Staircase, Dunster Castle 
 
 Plan of the mansion-house, Dunster Castle 
 
 Antony receiving Cleopatra . 
 
 Antony crowning Cleopatra . 
 
 The Gatehouse, Dunster Castle, from the Green Court 
 
 Turned chair, Dunster Castle 
 
 Fireplace in the Hall, Dunster Castle 
 
 Dunster Church, from the south . 
 
 Dunster Church, interior 
 
 Arch in the south transept, Dunster Church 
 
 Plan of Dunster Church 
 
 Lower Marsh, the entrance . 
 
 Seals, 1-3 . 
 
 Seals, 4-7 . 
 
 Sir Andrew Luttrell 
 
 Charlotte Drewe (Mrs. 
 
 Seals, 8-10 . 
 
 Seals, 1 1 -1 4 
 
 Seals, 15-18 
 
 Seals, 19-22 
 
 Seals, 23-27 
 
 Seals, 28-35 
 
 F. Fownes Luttrell)
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 XXI 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. 
 
 Old tile in Dunster Church, with the arms of Mohun 
 Standard-bearer, from the Luttrell Psalter 
 Swan-marks ...... 
 
 Pipe-head at East Quantockshead . 
 Shield at the Luttrell Arms Hotel . 
 Heraldic Tablet on the Gate-house, Dunster Castle 
 John Wyther and Agnes Wyther . . , 
 
 Old glass quarry in Dunster Church 
 Fragment of ancient glass, Dunster Church 
 Elizabethan chalice and paten, Dunster Church 
 Thomas Mohun ...... 
 
 John Mohun and Anne Mohun 
 
 58 
 128 
 160 
 185 
 333 
 363 
 402 
 
 433 
 454 
 468 
 480 
 481
 
 A HISTORY OF 
 
 D UNST ER
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Mohuns of Dunster 
 1066 — 1404. 
 
 William de Mohun, the progenitor of the noble 
 house which held Dunster for more than three 
 centuries, and flourished afterwards in Cornwall and 
 Dorset, took his name from Moyon near St. Lo in 
 Normandy, in which country the family had consid- 
 erable possessions until its separation from the crown 
 of England. His descendants in turn gave their 
 name to Hammoon in Dorset, to Ottery Mohun and 
 Tormoham in Devon, and to Grange Mohun in the 
 county of Kildare. In England, their surname was 
 spelt at different times Moion and Moyon, Moiun 
 and Moyun, Moun, Mooun, Moyhun and Mohun, 
 and just as the illustrious name of Bohun degenerated 
 into Boon, that of Mohun got corrupted into Moon \ 
 With regard to the pronunciation of it, there is an 
 interesting note of the fourteenth century to the 
 effect that the change from Moion to Mohun had 
 involved the loss of a syllable. ^ 
 
 The domain of Moyon is mentioned in 1027 as 
 part of the dower of Adela, Duchess of Normandy, 
 but nothing whatever is known as to the parentage 
 of WilUam de Mohun who came over to England 
 
 ' For the sake of uniformity, the following pages, except in quotations, 
 name will be given as Mohun in the • Devon Notes & Queries, vo]. iv. p. 20.
 
 2 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 with William the Conqueror. ^ There is an oft- 
 repeated statement that he then had in his retinue 
 fifty-seven (or forty-seven) " stout knights of name 
 and repute, " and a narrative in old French professes 
 to enumerate them. It begins : — 
 
 " Be it known that in the year of the grace of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ one thousand and sixty-six, on Saturday the 
 feast of St. Calixtus, came William the Bastard, Duke of 
 Normandy, cousin of the noble king St. Edward, the son 
 of Emma of England, and killed King Harold and took 
 away the land from him by the aid of the Normans and 
 other men of other lands ; among whom came with him 
 Sir William de Moion the old, the noblest of all the host. 
 This William de Moion had in his retinue in the host all 
 the great lords after named, as it is written in the Book of 
 the Conquerors. " 
 
 Then follows a list of fifty-seven names, among 
 which may be noticed those of Marmion, Paignel, 
 Basqueville, Corcye, Lacy, Columbers, Bullebek, 
 Tregoz, Montfichet, and Bigot. ^ This has been 
 described as " a following worthy of an Emperor." 
 When, however, we turn to Wace's Roman de Rou^ 
 we there find the same names standing in the same 
 order, but with this important difference that of 
 William de Mohun we read only : — 
 
 " Le viel JVillam de Moion 
 Out avec li maint compaignon. 
 
 Wace does not even hint that the knights whose 
 names follow that of Mohun were in any way 
 dependent on him, and it is now practically certain 
 that the whole story is due to an unscrupulous Abbot 
 of Newenham who wished to gratify the vanity of 
 the Mohuns living in the middle of the fourteenth 
 
 • Rotuh Scaccarii Normannice (ed. * Leland's Collectanea, vol. i. p. 202. 
 
 Stapleton), vol. i. pp. Ixxxii, Ixxxiii.
 
 CH.i. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 3 
 
 century. ^ As Mr. Planche remarks, this writer 
 might " have included half the army if an unmistake- 
 able full stop and change of subject had not pulled 
 him up short with the death of Robert Fitz Erneis. 
 .... Le Livre des Conquerors turns out to be the 
 Roman de Rou. " ^ 
 
 Although William de Mohun is styled * le viel^ 
 it does not follow that he was aged at the time of 
 the Norman Conquest, the epithet being applied to 
 distinguish him from his namesake who was living 
 when Wace wrote his poem. 
 
 Turning from fable to fact, we find that William 
 de Mohun was a person of considerable importance 
 in the reign of William the Conqueror, who assigned 
 to him a large estate in the west of England, formed 
 by the aggregation of lands that had belonged to 
 various Englishmen killed or ejected. At the time 
 of the Domesday Survey of 1086, he held fifty-six 
 separate manors in Somerset, eleven in Dorset, one 
 in Devon and one in Wiltshire. The greater number 
 of these had already been apportioned by him to 
 different tenants, to be held of him and his heirs on 
 the usual conditions of military service. Several of 
 these tenants had more than one manor apiece. 
 Most of them bore Norman names and were doubt- 
 less men who had come over in the train of the 
 Conqueror. In one case, an Englishman had been 
 suffered to continue in possession, although placed in 
 subjection to the new Norman lord. ^ 
 
 Eighteen of the manors in Somerset and six of 
 those in Dorset remained in William de Mohun's 
 
 ' Devon Notes and Queries, vol. iv. ^ " Brictric holds of William Sorde- 
 
 pp. 249-250. maneford. The same Brictric held it in 
 
 2 The Conqueror and his Companions, the time of King Edward. " Domesday 
 
 I vol. ii. p. 22. Book, f. 96.
 
 4 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 own hands in 1086, but the number was gradually 
 reduced by the enfeoffment of fresh knights and by 
 grants to several religious houses. Some of the 
 manors most distant from Dunster were also exchanged 
 with the king, before the year i 1 00, for that of 
 Carhampton and the Hundred of the same name. 
 One effect of this was that the little Hundreds of 
 Cutcombe and Minehead, which are mentioned in the 
 Gheld Inquest of 1084, became ere long absorbed into 
 the Hundred of Carhampton. The castle built by 
 William de Mohun on the isolated Tor which gave 
 its name to Dunster, became the head of an important 
 Honour, or Barony, comprising forty knights' fees 
 in the reign of Henry the First, and afterwards 
 enlarged. The manors retained in demesne about 
 the middle of the twelfth century were those of 
 Dunster, Minehead, Cutcombe, Kilton and Car- 
 hampton in Somerset, and Ham in Dorset. 
 
 Reverting to Domesday, it is worthy of notice that 
 William de Mohun kept thirty-six brood mares at 
 Cutcombe and twenty-two at Brewham at the other 
 end of the county. He was Sheriff of Somerset at 
 the time of the Gheld Inquest of 1084 and at that 
 of the great survey of 1086. Indeed it is probable 
 that he held office for a considerable period, and that 
 he was sometimes known as ' William the Sheriff.' ' 
 His estate at Stockland came to be called ' the 
 Sheriff's town, ' afterwards corrupted into ' Shereve- 
 ton' or 'Shurton,' and some of his land near Kilton is 
 still known as ' Shervidge. ' ^ On the other hand his 
 manor of Sheriff's Brompton (Brunetone Vicecomitis) 
 eventually lost that name and became Brompton 
 
 ' Bruton Cartulary, no. 3. Wilts alike belonged to sheriffs in 1086. 
 
 * Shroton in Dorset and Shrewton in
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 5 
 
 Ralph, when held under the lord of Dunster by 
 Ralph son of William son of Durand de Mohun. 
 
 A translation of the charter of the first William de 
 Mohun to the monks of Bath will be given in a 
 subsequent chapter, and in this place it is only 
 necessary to observe that it mentions his wife Adelisa, 
 his sons Geoffrey and Robert and his brother Wilmund. 
 Durand the steward (dapifer) also mentioned in it 
 seems to have been known later as Durand de Mohun, 
 but it is impossible to say whether he was a relation 
 of the Norman lords of Dunster or merely a native 
 of Moyon who held under them. 
 
 William de Mohun the second was almost cer- 
 tainly a son of the Conqueror's companion in arms. ^ 
 Whether he was the firstborn is more problematical 
 in view of the fact that he is not named, either as a 
 consenting party or as a witness, in the very important 
 charter by which his predecessor granted the church 
 of Dunster and other endowments to the monks of 
 Bath. The earliest notice of him is in the year 11 3 1, 
 when he attended the council of Northampton. ^ 
 Seven years later, he is mentioned as one of the prin- 
 cipal nobles who espoused the cause of the Empress 
 Maud against Stephen, his castle of Dunster being 
 reckoned as one of the main strongholds of her 
 party. ^ In describing the events of 11 38, a hostile 
 chronicler writes as follows : — 
 
 " At that time, William de Moiun, a man not only of 
 the highest rank but also of illustrious lineage, raised a 
 mighty revolt against the King, and, collecting some bands 
 
 ' A charter of William de Mohun, father and his father. D. C. M. xvi. 7. 
 
 which may be ascribed to the third of ^ Sarum Charters, (R. S.) p. 7. 
 
 that name, confirms the gifts made to ^ Henry of Hntitiugdoii, (R. S.) p. 261. 
 Ihe church of Dunster by his grand-
 
 6 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 of horsemen and footmen at his fortress, which he had 
 placed in a fair and impregnable position by the sea-shore, 
 began to overrun all that part of England in warlike manner, 
 sweeping it as with a whirlwind. At all places and at all 
 times, laying aside his loyalty, he set himself to work his 
 cruel will, to subdue by violence not only his neighbours 
 but others living afar off, to oppress with robbery and 
 pillage, with fire and sword, any who resisted, and merci- 
 lessly to subject all wealthy persons whom he met to chains 
 and tortures. By so doing, he changed a realm of peace 
 and quiet, of joy and merriment, into a scene of strife and 
 rebellion, weeping and lamentation. 
 
 " When in course of time these doings were made known 
 to the king, he gathered his adherents together in a mighty 
 host and marched with all speed to put an end to WiUiam's 
 savagery. But when he came to a halt before the entrance 
 of the castle and saw the impregnable defences of the place, 
 inaccessible on the one side where it was washed by the 
 tide and very strongly fortified on the other by towers and 
 walls, by a rampart (vallo) and outworks, he gave up all 
 hope of carrying it by siege, and, taking wiser counsels, 
 blockaded the castle in full view of the enemy, so that he 
 might the better hold them in check and occupy the 
 neighbouring country in security. He also gave orders to 
 Henry de Tracy, a skilled soldier, oft approved in the 
 hazards of war, that acting in his stead, because he was called 
 away to other business, he should with all promptitude and 
 diligence bestir himself against the enemy. 
 
 " Henry therefore, in the King's absence, set forth from 
 Barnstaple, a town belonging to him and enjoying privileges 
 granted to him by the King, and made vigorous and deter- 
 mined attacks on his foes, so that he not only restrained their 
 wonted sallies and their unbridled, marauding raids in the 
 neighbourhood, but also captured a hundred and four 
 horsemen in one cavalry encounter. At length, he so 
 reduced and humbled William that he was able to abandon 
 further hostilities against him and to leave the country more 
 peaceful and free from such disturbance. " ' 
 
 ' Gesta Stephani, (R. S.) pp. 51, 52.
 
 DUNSTER CASTLE, 
 
 FKOM THK RIVKR.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 7 
 
 Considering that the writer shows a minute know- 
 ledge of places in the west of England such as Bristol, 
 Bath and Exeter, it may seem strange that he should 
 describe Dunster Castle as situate on the coast. 
 There is, however, no doubt that the sea in that 
 neighbourhood has receded considerably since his 
 time, and it has been suggested as possible that the 
 low ground on the east was sometimes flooded. 
 
 Tracy's operations certainly did not reduce William 
 de Mohun to final subjection, and his royal mistress 
 set so high a value on his services to her that she 
 raised him to the rank of an earl between the months 
 of April and June 1 141. Under the name of ' Earl 
 William de Moion, ' he was a witness to a charter 
 issued by her at Westminster at Midsummer in that 
 year. ^ The anonymous chronicler already quoted is 
 in error both as to the date of the creation and as to 
 the title bestowed, for he says that at the siege of 
 Winchester, which was in August and September 
 1 141, the Empress created William de Mohun Earl 
 of Dorset. ^ There is no doubt that William de 
 Mohun styled himself ' Earl of Somerset. ' ^ In most 
 cases, he is described simply as ' the Earl. ' ^ The 
 chronicler's confusion as to the title is pardonable in 
 view of the fact that for administrative purposes 
 Somerset and Dorset were often reckoned as one 
 county, having a sheriff in common. 
 
 Some years before this, William de Mohun had 
 married a lady named Agnes, who seems to have 
 brought to him and his descendants the manor of 
 Whichford, situate in Warwickshire but formerly 
 
 Round's Geoffrey de MandeviUe, $2,^7; Valor Ecclesiasticus,\olA, p.iso. 
 
 PP- 93. 95. 96, 277. * Brutoii Cartulary, nos. 5, 54, 56, 
 
 ^ Gcsla Sfcphani, p. 80. 66, 230, 231. 
 * Bruton Cartulary (S.R.S.), nos. i, 2,
 
 8 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 belonging to Northamptonshire. Although the name 
 of her father is not stated, a suggestion may be 
 offered with some confidence that she was a daughter 
 of Walter of Gaunt, who, as a grandson of Baldwin 
 Count of Flanders, was first cousin to William the 
 Second and Henry the First, Kings of England and 
 Dukes of Normandy. Such a connexion might 
 account for the chronicler's allusion to the very high 
 social position of her husband. Certain it is that 
 Whichford belonged to Gilbert of Gaunt in 1086, 
 that his son Walter founded a priory of Augustinian 
 canons at Bridlington, in Yorkshire, and that William 
 de Mohun and Agnes his wife gave the church of 
 Whichford to that priory in the reign of Henry the 
 the First. ^ Without some such explanation, it would 
 be difficult to account for this benefaction to a 
 religious house situate so far from Dunster. The 
 grant, however, seems to have been limited to the 
 lifetimes of William and Agnes, for the advowson 
 afterwards reverted to the Mohuns and was enjoyed 
 by them and their descendants, the Stranges and the 
 Stanleys, until the reign of Elizabeth. ' 
 
 The favour of the Earl of Somerset to the Augus- 
 tinian order was further shown by his establishment 
 of a priory at Bruton, in the eastern part of the 
 county of Somerset. The charters by which he 
 granted to the regular canons the church of that 
 place, with its tithes, dues, and rights, and common 
 pasture in his manor of Brewham, bear no date, but 
 may be referred to the year 1 142. ^ It was by his 
 advice that one of his feudal tenants, Robert son 
 of Geoffrey, bestowed upon them the church of 
 
 ' Domesday Book, i. 227" ; Dugdale's shire, (ed. 1765) pp. 417, 418. 
 Monasticon vol. vi, pp. 285-287. '' Bruton Cartulary, nos. I, 2, 376 ; 
 
 ^ Dugdale's Antiquities of Warwick- Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. vi. p. 335.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 9 
 
 Luxborough near Dunster, of which he increased the 
 endowment. ^ 
 
 A grant of some land at Lydeard to the Augustinian 
 canons of Taunton by WilHam de Mohun may be 
 attributed either to the Earl of Somerset or his son. ^ 
 
 The Earl of Somerset had by Agnes his wife six 
 sons : — 
 
 Ralph, for the benefit of whose soul he gave some 
 land at Avelham to the church of Dunster. " 
 
 William, his successor. 
 
 Henry, who seems to have inherited the maternal 
 estate at Whichford, as, in 1162, he paid scutage 
 for a knight's fee in Warwickshire. * A person 
 of the same name was connected with Hampshire 
 in 1 167.* 
 
 Ivan.*' 
 
 Richard, a clerk, beneficed on the paternal estate in 
 Normandy, but generally resident in England. ' 
 
 Peter, also a clerk.^ 
 
 William de Mohun the third was a witness to 
 his father's charter in favour of the Augustinian 
 canons of Bruton. " He seems to have succeeded 
 him in or before 1 1 55, as the Pipe Rolls, which then 
 begin to be continuous, do not record any payment by 
 him to the Crown by way of relief on the death of 
 his father. He did not style himself Earl of Somer- 
 set, King Stephen having presumably declined to 
 recognise that title as conferred by the Empress 
 Maud. In some of his earher charters, he is described 
 
 » Braton Cartulary, nos. 230, 232. " Bruton Cartulary, nos. i, 4, 66, 69, 
 
 - Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. vi. 71, 230, 430. 
 
 p. 166. ' ^h'd. nos. I. 64, 75, 230, 399, 400, 
 
 3 D. CM. XVI 7. 401 : Calendar of documents ill France 
 
 < Brnton Cartulary, nos. i, 75; Pipe (ed. Round), vol. i. p. 176. 
 
 Roll, 8 Hen. II, p. 2. * Brnton Cartulary, nos. i, 230. 
 
 5 Pipe Roll, 13 Hen. II, p. 189. ^ Ibid. no. i.
 
 lo A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 as William de Mohun 'the younger {juvenis).' For 
 the benefit of the souls of his father WilHam, his 
 mother Agnes, and his brethren, he gave to the 
 Augustinian canons of Bruton, sixty acres near the 
 pond at Brewham and pannage for a hundred hogs 
 in Selwood Forest. ^ He furthermore endowed 
 them with the church of Cutcombe near Dunster, 
 the church of Lyons, in Normandy, with the tithe 
 of his fisheries there, and property at Brewham and 
 Redlinch. ^ He also confirmed the gifts of his 
 grandfather and father to the Benedictine monks of 
 Bath. ' 
 
 In the time of the third William de Mohun, the 
 Honour of Dunster comprised forty-six and a half 
 fees held by different military tenants. It may fairly 
 be surmised that the number had been originally 
 fixed at forty and that one had been acquired by 
 marriage. Five and a half knights' fees are distinctly 
 stated to have been " of the new feoffment, " that is 
 to say creations of the period subsequent to the reign 
 of Henry the First, and when an aid was levied, in 
 1 1 68, on account of the marriage of the King's 
 daughter, William de Mohun refused to pay on more 
 than forty-one, persisting in this refusal until the end 
 of his life. ^ In Normandy too he had eleven knights 
 under him, although he was accountable to his royal 
 master for only five. ^ 
 
 William de Mohun the third married a lady named 
 Godehold, who brought to him, as her inheritance or 
 portion, the manor of Brinkley, in Cambridgeshire ^ 
 
 * Bruton Cartulary, no. 4. Hen. II. p. 3 ; 22 Hen. II. p. 155. 
 
 ' /6/rf. nos. 66, 67, 69, 71, 75,221, 226, '" Red Book of the Exchequer (R. S.) 
 
 395, 397- P- 629. 
 
 » D.C.M. XVI. 7. « Curia Regis Roll, no. 48, m. 7". 
 
 * Pipe Rolls, 14 Hen. II. p. 143 ; 75
 
 CH.i. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. n 
 
 He died in 1176, and she was apparently dead in 
 1 186. ^ They had issue several children : — 
 
 William, successor to his father. 
 
 Geoffrey, who was enfeoffed by his brother of the 
 manor of Ham, in Dorset. This he forfeited by 
 espousing the cause of John, Count of Mortain, 
 against his brother King Richard. " 
 
 John, ancestor of the Mohuns of Ham. ^ 
 
 Thomas, who had the churches of Moyon and Tessy 
 sur-Vire, and perhaps other ecclesiastical benefices 
 in Normandy and England. * 
 
 Robert. ' 
 
 Agnes, who married William of Windsor. She had 
 for her portion an estate at and near Bicknoller, 
 which her descendants for several generations held 
 of the Honour of Dunster by military service. '' 
 
 William de Mohun the fourth was, while a 
 boy, named as a witness to a charter of his father in 
 favour of the canons of Bruton. ^ Being still under 
 age at the death of his father in 1 176, he became a 
 ward of the King. Richard, Bishop of Winchester 
 was soon appointed to look after him and to admin- 
 ister his estates. The normal rent of the manors 
 was 44/. 3X. 4^. but part of Dunster is described as 
 '' waste ; " the tolls there did not yield the amount 
 expected ; and the mills of Dunster and Carhampton 
 alike showed a decline in revenue. There were also 
 some charges for the repair of the mill, the cultiva- 
 tion of the vineyard, and the wages of servants. On 
 
 1 Pipe Roll, 22 Hen. II. p. 155 ; Caleii- vol. i. p. lyS- 
 
 dar of documents in France [tA.'Roxmd], '' Ibid.p. 2S'^. 
 
 vol i p 780 ^ Pole MS. at Queen's College, 
 
 i Pipe Roils. Oxford, f. 64" ; Feet of Fines, Somer- 
 
 ' See Appendix. set, 20 Hen. III. (Green, i. 85.) 
 
 * Cah-iidnr of documents in France, ' Bruton Cartulary, no. 397.
 
 12 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 the other hand, the King got 1 9/. clear from the sale 
 of corn and wine from the lands in demesne which 
 were not reckoned in the rental. By royal order, a 
 sum of 18/. was allowed for the maintenance of the 
 heir for a year and a half. ^ His mother presumably 
 had dower at Minehead or Kilton, in addition to her 
 own property at Brinkley. 
 
 William de Mohun appears to have received 
 livery of his lands in 1 1 'j']^ as the Crown then 
 ceased to get the profits of them. There is, how- 
 ever, a very perplexing entry in the Pipe Roll of 
 1 182, where the Sheriff accounts for \is. \d. derived 
 " from the wreck of Dunestor." On the one hand it 
 suggests that the lord of that place was entitled to 
 wreck of sea on part of the southern coast of the 
 Bristol Channel ; on the other hand it shows that 
 receipts from that franchise were paid into the 
 Exchequer. 
 
 Following the example of his father, William de 
 Mohun the fourth described himself as 'the younger' 
 in his earliest charter to the canons of Bruton, but 
 afterwards dropped that designation.^ He confirmed 
 to them all the gifts of his grandfather, his father, 
 and his different tenants in England and Normandy, 
 and added to their endowments the church and the 
 mill of Minehead and the tithe of the mills of 
 Cutcombe. ^ He furthermore made over to them 
 all his right of ecclesiastical patronage at Brinkley, 
 Minehead and Todbere in England, and at Moyon, 
 Tessy-sur-Vire, Beaucoudrai and Deodville in Nor- 
 mandy, subject to the life interest of his brother 
 Thomas. "* Finally he gave them the right of choosing 
 
 ' Pipe Roll, 25 Hen. II. p. 25. * Calendar of documents in France, 
 
 * Bruton Cartnhiry, no. 5. vol. i, p. 178. 
 
 * Ibid. nos. 223, 224, 240, 245.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 13 
 
 a prior from among themselves, upon condition that 
 they should present the person so chosen to him or 
 his heirs, whether in England or in Normandy \ 
 This condition was faithfully observed for generation 
 after generation, and when the main line of the 
 Mohuns became extinct, the canons continued the 
 practice, by presenting their priors elect to the Lut- 
 trells of Dunster, as successors in title, though not in 
 blood, to the older lords of that place. - In the 
 middle of the fourteenth century, there was a very 
 ancient custom that whenever the lord or lady of 
 Dunster went to stay at Bruton Priory, the canons 
 should provide two wax candles to burn all night in 
 the bedroom. ^ 
 
 By a charter pubhshed at Montchaton in 1186, 
 William de Mohun granted the tithe of his mills 
 at Moyon, Tessy-sur-Vire and Beaucoudrai to the 
 Premonstratensian canons of La Luzerne, on condi- 
 tion that they should keep his anniversary, and that 
 one of their number, in perpetual succession, should 
 be specially bound to offer prayers for the soul of his 
 mother Godeheut. * 
 
 In arranging that his anniversary should be kept at 
 Bruton Priory year after year, William de Mohun 
 mentioned his purpose of going on pilgrimage to 
 Jerusalem, and it is quite possible that he died 
 abroad. ^ The date of his death may be placed in 
 October 1193, but several months elapsed before 
 William de Ste. Mere Eglise took possession of the 
 Honour of Dunster in the King's name, the heir 
 
 > BiufonCartulary,no. 7 iPatentRoW, * St. George's extracts from the 
 
 20 Edvv. Ill, pt. 2, m. 24. Mohun Chronicle. 
 
 - D.C.M. XXXVII. 2, 3. 5, 8 13, 14, 18, * Calendar of documents in France, 
 
 25. Hist. MSB. Comm. Tenth Report, vol. i. p. 282. Cf. Add. Charter 13414. 
 
 App. VI. p. 78. ' Bruton Cartulary, no. 245.
 
 14 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 being a minor. ^ The Honour of Moyon in Nor- 
 mandy was about the same time committed to the 
 charge of Richard de Humez. "^ The dower of Lucy 
 de Mohun, WiUiam's rehct, included only seven of 
 his English fees, approximately a sixth of the whole 
 number. ^ She eventually obtained from the Crown 
 a lease of his paternal estate at Moyon in Normandy 
 for a yearly rent of 50/. and a fine of 20/. * 
 
 William de Mohun the fourth and Lucy his wife 
 had issue two sons, William and Reynold. The 
 former is named as a witness to three of his father's 
 charters at a time when he was clearly under age ^ 
 It is, however, impossible to say whether he survived 
 his father. For some ten years, the Honour of 
 Dunster remained in the hands of the King and was 
 administered by his agents William de Ste. Mere 
 Eglise, William of Wrotham, Nicholas Puinz, 
 Reynold of Clifton, Hugh de Gurnai and Hubert de 
 Burgh. The income was mainly from Dunster and 
 Carhampton, and the outgoings were very small. 
 At the Castle itself a doorkeeper and a watchman 
 were maintained by royal order, but the accounts say 
 nothing about the wardship of the heir. A clerk 
 named Richard who had a pension of the gift of 
 William de Mohun, may have been the last surviving 
 son of the Earl of Somerset. ® 
 
 There was some trouble at Dunster, perhaps poli- 
 tical, between the death of Richard the First, and 
 the coronation of his brother. ' 
 
 ' Rotuli Scaccarii Normannice, (ed. * Rotuli Scaccarii Normannice,vo].ii. 
 
 Stapleton) vol. ii. p. x ; Pipe Roll. p. 296. 
 
 * Rotuli Scaccatii Normannice, vol. i. * Bruton Cartulary, nos. 6, 7, 73. 
 
 p. 244. * Pipe Rolls, 6-10 Ric. I. and 1-7 
 
 ^ Rotulus Cancellarii, 5 Johannis, John; Rotiilus CanccUarii, ^Johannis, 
 
 pp. 143, 209; Rotuli de Oblatis &c, pp. 198, 205-211. 
 
 p. 135. <■ Rotuli Curia: Regis, vol. ii. p. 12 r.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 15 
 
 When King John was at Le Mans in January 1 203, 
 he gave orders to the seneschal of Normandy to 
 dehver to Hubert de Burgh, the Chamberlain, all 
 the land of Reynold de Mohun in that duchy, except 
 some that had been committed to another person \ 
 At the beginning of May, when he was at Falaise, 
 we read : — 
 
 " Hubert de Burgh, the Chamberlain, was commanded 
 by letters patent to warn and induce Reynold de Moyhun 
 to accept from the King an exchange in England for his 
 land at Lyons near Caen, and for this cause to send him to 
 the King, or else his letters patent. " * 
 
 In other words, a young man, legally under age, 
 was to be compelled by his guardian to execute a deed 
 surrendering part of his patrimony, unless he preferred 
 to undertake a journey across the sea on the chance 
 of obtaining tolerable terms from the King. The 
 rolls of the period do not contain any further refer- 
 ence to the subject. 
 
 Reynold de Mohun obtained possession of Dunster 
 Castle and the chief part of his inheritance in July 
 1204.^ Whichford, in Warwickshire, was made over 
 to him some two months later, and he established his 
 right to Brinkley, in Cambridgeshire, as the heir of 
 Godehold de Mohun, who had owned the manor in 
 fee. * He seems to have taken a prominent part 
 in the invasion of France in the summer of 1206, as 
 the sheriff of Devon was then ordered to provide 
 him with a ship at the King's expense. ^ Four years 
 later, he was one of the knights who accompanied 
 John in his expedition to Ireland. ^ 
 
 ' Rotuli Normannict, p. 68. Curia Regis Rolls.nos. 47, m.3 ; 48, mjd. 
 
 - Rotuli Lift. Patentinm, vol. i. p. 29. ■' Rotuli Litt. Clausarnm, vol. i. 
 
 ■' Ibid. p. 44. PP- 71, 72- 
 
 * Rotttli Litt. Clausarnm, vo\.\. p. ()\ ^ RotuUde Liberate, pp. 181,20^,216.
 
 i6 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 To the canons of Bruton, Reynold de Mohun 
 confirmed all the gifts of his ancestors, by two charters 
 apparently issued on the same day, the one dealing 
 with property in England and Normandy alike, and 
 the other dealing exclusively with property in 
 England. ^ On the separation of Normandy from 
 England, he had to make his choice between King 
 Philip and King John, and, as his chief estates lay in 
 England, he declared in favour of the latter. The 
 original possessions of his ancestors were consequently 
 escheated to the French Crown. ' There is some 
 difficulty in tracing their subsequent history, but it 
 appears that some of them were eventually recovered 
 by a younger branch of the Mohun family. 
 Although Alan de Avalgor is described as ' lord of 
 Moyon ' in 1254, an estate at Maisons which had 
 belonged to the Mohuns of Dunster was, at a later 
 date, in the possession of Joan de la Pommeraie, 
 daughter of Henry de Moyon. ^ A deed of 1290 
 shows that this lady was the relict of Gislain de la 
 Pommeraie, and a niece of William de Courcy, and 
 that she had had a brother named Henry de Moyon *. 
 A certain William de Moyon also occurs in 1266, in 
 connexion with Friardel. " Some ruins of a castle 
 may still be seen at Moyon, where it is now known 
 as Le vieux chateau d Ha'mneville^ situate on high 
 ground and protected by a broad, deep moat, full of 
 water. It is believed to have once had a central keep 
 and a double line of walls. 
 
 6 
 
 1 Bruton Cartulary, no. 58 ; Patent * Danisy, Archives duCalvados,vo\.\. 
 
 Rolls, 20 Edw. Ill, p. 2, m. 24 ; p. 31. 
 
 36 Edw. Ill, p. 2, m. 22. ^ Ibid. p. 406. 
 
 ^ Rotuli Scaccarii NormaJinice,vol.ii. •* Information kindly obtained, in 
 
 p. X. 1904, by M, Jnles Lair, Membre de 
 
 ^ Bruton Cartulary, nos. 424, 433, L'Institut, from the Archivist of La 
 
 434. Manche.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 17 
 
 Reynold de Mohun married Alice, one of the 
 daughters of Sir William Briwere, a man of great 
 consequence in his day. ^ By her he seems to have 
 had issue four sons : — 
 
 Reynold, successor to his father. 
 
 William, a benefactor to Cleeve Abbey and the 
 prime mover in the foundation of Newenham 
 Abbey. ^ He married Juliana de Vernon. ^ Dying 
 at Norton, in Cornwall, in 1265, he was buried 
 before the high altar at Newenham, near his elder 
 brother. * 
 
 Baldwin, a priest. He was rector of Brinkley, in 
 Cambridgeshire in 1261. ^ Some five years later, 
 he was presented by the Abbot of Newenham to 
 the living of Luppit, in Devon, which he vacated 
 in 1267. ® 
 
 Richard. ^ 
 
 Reynold de Mohun of Dunster died in 1 2 1 3, when 
 he was barely thirty years of age. Alice his relict mar- 
 ried secondly William Paynel of Bampton, in Devon, 
 a Crusader, who died in 1228.^ Some five years later, 
 she succeeded to a considerable estate in the west of 
 England, on the death of her brother, WiUiam Briwere 
 the younger. ^ Through her the Mohuns inherited 
 the manors of Torre, Ugborough, Cadleigh, Brad- 
 worthy and Axminster, in Devon, and He Brewer, 
 in Somerset, and various knights' fees elsewhere. 
 
 ' Oliver's Monashcon Dioecesis Exon. « Newenham Register f. 43; Brones- 
 
 pp. 190, 362 ; Dictionary of National combe's Register, f. 36". 
 
 Biograf>hv, vol. vi. p. 299. ^ Oliver's Monasticon Dioecesis Exou. 
 
 * Dugdale'sMonashcon,vol. V. p. 733. p. 39- 
 
 3 Calendar of Inquisitions,Henry III. * Excerpta e Rotulis Finium, vol. 1. 
 
 p. 188 ; Excerpta e Rotulis Finium, pp. 167, 173 ; Close Rolls, 1227-12?!, 
 
 vol. ii. p. 327. PP- 24, 64. 
 
 * Oliver, p. 363. ' Excerpta, p. 242 ; Close Rolls, 1231- 
 
 * Feet of Fines, Cambridge, 45 1234, pp. 22^,229, sii;TestadeNevill, 
 Hen. III. P- 200. 
 
 D
 
 1 8 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 Reynold de Mohun the second was of course a 
 minor at the time of his father's death, and Dunster 
 passed into the hands of the Crown for the third 
 time within thirty-eight years. In June 121 3, King 
 John committed to Henry Fitz-Count, bastard son 
 of the Earl of Cornwall, the wardship of the heirs of 
 Reynold de Mohun, with the castle of Dunster and 
 various lands, saving to Alice the widow her marriage 
 portion and dower at Whichford and elsewhere ^ 
 In 1220, however, the ministers of Henr)^ the Third 
 transferred the *' forest of Dunster, " whatever that 
 may be, to Peter de Maulay, to be safely kept by 
 him during pleasure. * Furthermore, on the death 
 of Henry Fitz-Count in 1222, a different arrange- 
 ment was made, for while William Briwere was 
 given the wardship of the demesne of Carhampton, 
 the knights' fees, and the person of his grandson, the 
 castle and the borough of Dunster were expressly 
 reserved to the Crown. ^ Other manors belonging 
 to the inheritance must have been in the hands of 
 a widow, Alice de Mohun or Lucy de Mohun. 
 During the next few months, money was frequently 
 issued to two crossbowmen named Vilers, who were 
 placed in Dunster Castle by royal order. * 
 
 Reynold de Mohun received livery of his lands in 
 or before 1227, when he levied an aid on his knights 
 and free tenants, on the occasion of his being made a 
 knight, ^ He accompanied the King on his military 
 expeditions into France in 1230 and into Wales in 
 the following year. ^ He was, however, more 
 remarkable in peace than in war. In 1234, at a 
 
 * Rotuli Litt. Clausarum, vol. i. * Rottili Litt. Clausarum, vol. i. 
 pp. 137, 242. pp. 492, 503. 508, 512, 524, 535. 
 
 * Ibid. p. 418. * Patent Rolls, 1225-12^2, p. 107. 
 
 * /fcu/.pp. 518,605 ; Excerpta e Rotu- ^ Ibid. pp. 311, 358; Close Rolls, 
 lis Finiiim, vol. i. p. 79. 122J-123J, p. 550.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 19 
 
 time when he was for some reason in debt to the 
 Jews, he was appointed one of the Justices of the 
 Bench, that is to say of the Court of Common Pleas. ^ 
 Nine years later, he was constituted Chief Justice of 
 the forests south of Trent. - In i 242, he went again 
 to Wales. ^ In 1252, he was appointed keeper of 
 all the royal forests south of Trent, with a salary of 
 a hundred marks for his maintenance, and it was 
 doubtless in connexion with his new duties that he 
 took a lease of Sauvey Castle in Leicestershire at a 
 rent of five marks. * 
 
 Reynold de Mohun had many residences of his 
 own in addition to Dunster Castle. In 1 233, he had a 
 house at Streatley, in Berkshire, which had come to 
 him through his first wife. ' In i 252, he entered into 
 an elaborate agreement with the Abbot and Convent 
 of Torre, in Devonshire, concerning a private chapel 
 which he proposed to build at his court-house there, 
 for the exclusive use of himself and his family, his 
 guests, and his domestic servants. The monks were 
 careful to stipulate that the rite of baptism should 
 not be administered therein and that half of the 
 offerings made there should be handed over to them. ^ 
 Under the corrupted form of ' Tormoham, ' the old 
 parish of Torre still preserves the memory of the 
 Mohuns who dwelt there, but no remains of their 
 court-house are to be found among the modern villas 
 of Torquay. In 1253, Reynold de Mohun obtained 
 for himself and his heirs a grant of free warren at 
 Dunster, at Whichford, in Warwickshire, and at 
 Ottery, in Devon, with Ucence to hunt the hare, 
 
 1 Close Rolls, 12 31-1234, pp. 346, ' ibid. 1 247-1258, pp. 155, 162 ; 
 
 565, 570. Matthew of Paris, Chronica Major a, 
 
 » 'calendar of Patent Rolls, 1232-1247, vol. v. p. 340. 
 p. 279. ' Close Rolls, 1231-1234, p. 226. 
 
 » /fc/d. p. 464. * Dugdale'sMo«flsrtcoM,volvii.p.926.
 
 20 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 the fox, the cat and the badger in Somerset and one 
 other county. ^ 
 
 The charters of Reynold de Mohun the second to 
 the men of Dunster will be noticed in another chap- 
 ter. It remains to say something about his bene- 
 factions to different religious bodies. His ancestors 
 had done much for the church. Irrespectively of 
 minor donations, the Mohuns had established Bene- 
 dictine monks at Dunster and Augustinian canons 
 at Bruton, and his grandfather, William Briwere, 
 had founded no less than four separate houses, a 
 Premonstratensian abbey at Torre, a Cistercian abbey 
 at Dunkeswell, an Augustinian priory at Mottisfont, 
 and a hospital at Bridgewater. Reynold de Mohun's 
 benefactions were also diverse. To the monks of 
 Dunster he gave 50 marks, and, apparently, two acres 
 at Caremore near the sea. ^ That he was a warm 
 friend to the Augustinian canons of Bruton is clear 
 from his attestation of several grants to them and 
 from the part which he took in the establishment of 
 the vicarage of Minehead. He also renounced in 
 their favour all his rights, as patron, during intervals 
 when the ofHce of prior might be vacant. ^ To 
 another house of the same order at Barlinch in 
 Somerset, on the borders of Devonshire, he gave land 
 at Mariansleigh, and the advowson of the church.* To 
 the Cistercian monks of Cleeve near Dunster he gave 
 some land at Slaworthi, or Slowley, near Luxborough, 
 to be held by service of an eighth part of a knight's 
 fee. ^ He is, however, to be remembered chiefly as 
 the founder of Newenham Abbey in Devonshire. 
 
 ' Calendar of Charter Rolls, vol. i. 241, 243. 
 
 p. 431. Part of the enrolment has * Dugda\e'sMoiiasticon,vo\.v\.p.386. 
 
 long been illegible. D.C.M. viii. 3. = Ibid. vol. v. p. 733 ; Bruton Cartu- 
 
 - Two Chartidaries of Bath. L." 901. lary, no. 234 ; British Museum, Add. 
 
 * Bruton Cartulary, nos. 8, 237-239, MS. 11 161.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 21 
 
 The idea of establishing a new Cistercian house in 
 the west of England originated with Sir William de 
 Mohun, who offered to transfer some of his lands to his 
 elder brother if the latter would provide a suitable 
 site. Sir Reynold de Mohun entered readily into 
 the scheme and gave him the choice of three manors, 
 Minehead, Ottery Fleming, and Axminster. After 
 an inspection of them by the Abbot of Beaulieu, 
 Axminster was selected, and, in September 1245, Sir 
 Reynold assigned that manor to his brother, upon 
 condition that the foundation of an Abbey therein 
 should be sanctioned by the King and by the Cister- 
 cian Order within eighteen months. He further- 
 more undertook to contribute a hundred marks a 
 year to the proposed building. By the intercession 
 of John Godard, one of the monks of Beaulieu, 
 seconded by Richard, Earl of Cornwall, the king's 
 approval was obtained in July 1 246. ^ Sir Reynold 
 de Mohun then issued a formal charter of foundation, 
 which was in due course confirmed by royal author- 
 ity. ^ At the end of December in that year, John 
 Godard was elected Abbot, and twelve monks of 
 Beaulieu and four lay brethren were chosen to accom- 
 pany him to Devonshire. This little band arrived 
 at the site of the new colony on the feast of the 
 Epiphany, chanting Salve Regina, in the presence of 
 the founder, his brother, and a great concourse of 
 people. ^ 
 
 In 1248, the Pope took the new settlement, the 
 monastery of Newenham {c/e novo manso), under his 
 protection and conferred upon it many privileges. 
 
 ' Newenham Chartulary,ff. 1 8b-24b; » Calendar of Charter Rolls, vol. i. 
 
 Davidson's History of Neweiihatn Abbey, p. 326. 
 
 pp. 3-7, 225-227 ; Pole MS. at Queen's ^ Chartulary, as above. 
 College, Oxford, f. 14.
 
 22 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 At subsequent dates, Sir Reynold de Mohun granted 
 to the Cistercian monks the church of Luppit in 
 Devonshire and sixty marks towards the purchase of 
 land at Shapwick for the benefit of the soul of his 
 mother Alice. He is also stated to have bequeathed 
 to them by his will a sum of seven hundred marks \ 
 
 There was a great ceremony at Newenham on the 
 13th of September 1254, when the Abbot and monks 
 went in solemn procession from their temporary chapel 
 to the site of their future church, chanting psalms 
 suitable to the occasion, followed by an antiphon. 
 There Sir Reynold de Mohun laid the corner-stone 
 of the superstructure and two other stones, all marked 
 with the cross, while the clergy sang the Te Deum 
 and Salve Regina. Stones were also laid by Sir William 
 de Mohun and Sir Wymond de Raleigh. After this, 
 the Abbot, with the deacon and sub-deacon, vested 
 for mass, and the rest of the community knelt before 
 their founder and besought him to adopt the new 
 church as the place for his burial. He replied that 
 this was his intention, and, by a document dated at 
 Dunster in the following year, he directed that, unless 
 he should die in the Holy Land, his corpse should 
 be conveyed to Newenham and there honourably 
 buried before the high altar. ^ 
 
 In connexion with the establishment of Newenham 
 Abbey there is the following extraordinary story : — 
 
 " When Sir Reynold saw this done, he went to the 
 court of Rome, which was then at Lyons, for confirmation 
 and ratification of his new abbey, to his great honour for 
 ever ; and he was at the court on the Sunday in Lent when 
 they sing the office of the Mass Lastare Jerusalem^ on which 
 day the custom of the court is that the Pope (lapoistoille) 
 
 ' Davidson pp. 2, 10,21-24 ; Oliver's ' Davidson pp. 33-35; Rowe's Cister- 
 
 Monasticon Dioccesis E.xoii. p. 362. cian Houses of Devon, pp. 140, 141.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 23 
 
 gives to the most valiant and honourable man who can be 
 found at the said court a rose or little flower of fine gold. 
 They therefore searched the whole court and found this 
 Reynold to be most worthy of the whole court, and to him 
 Pope Innocent gave this rose or little flower of gold, and 
 the Pope (papa) asked him what manner of man he was in 
 his own country. He answered ' a plain knight bachelor. ' 
 ' Fair son ' said the Pope, * this rose or little flower has never 
 
 * been given save to kings, or to dukes, or to earls; therefore 
 ' we will that you be Earl of Est, ' — that is Somerset. 
 Reynold answered and said * O holy father, I have not 
 
 * wherewithal to maintain the name.' The Pope therefore 
 gave him two hundred marks a year to be received at the 
 altar of St. Pauls's in London out of his (Peter's) Pence of 
 England, to maintain his honour ; of which grant he brought 
 back with him bulls which still have the lead, etc. together 
 with ten other bulls of confirmation of his new abbey of 
 Newham. After this day, he bore the rose or little flower 
 in his arms. " ^ 
 
 Reynold de Mohun the second has accordingly 
 been recognised as Earl of Somerset in numerous 
 peerages and pedigrees, and ingenious heralds have 
 offered observations and explanations. Thus, Milles 
 says that he was created Earl of Somerset " by gift 
 of the Pope, who in King John's time might doe 
 what hee Ust in England, " while Camden asserts that 
 he " was deprived of that honour in the Barons' 
 War. " ^ These writers cannot have realised that 
 Reynold de Mohun did not come of age until some 
 years after the death of King John, and that he 
 died before the outbreak of the Barons' War. The 
 subject in fact requires more careful examination 
 than it has yet received. 
 
 Camden, who was evidently acquainted with the 
 narrative given above,, and Fuller, who prints it in 
 
 ' Fuller's C/j7frc/;///sforr,hookiii.§ 5. - WiWe^'?, Catalogue of Honour, ^^.2,9^; 
 
 no. 26. Camden's Britannia, Somerset.
 
 24 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 the original language, concur in stating that it was 
 to be found in a book or manuscript in French 
 belonging to the family of Mohun. Gerard says 
 more explicitly that it was derived from " an ancient 
 manuscript book still remayninge with Sir Reginald 
 Mohun, " and dedicated to Lady Joan Mohun by 
 John Osberne, her clerk. ^ This was unquestionably 
 the volume from which so many erroneous statements 
 about the Mohun family have been quoted in the 
 last four centuries. John Osberne, however, must 
 not be regarded as the author of the story. His 
 own " book or treatise, " composed in 1350, was in 
 Latin of a sort, and it appears to have been merely 
 a supplement to a larger work in French dedicated 
 to his mistress by Walter de la Houe, Abbot of 
 Newenham. The opening words of the narrative 
 given above show it to be an extract. 
 
 In considering the credibility of the story, it is 
 necessary to observe in the first place that Pope 
 Innocent the Fourth was at Lyons from November 
 1244 to April 1 25 1, and that the papal Regesta now 
 preserved at the Vatican do not contain copies of 
 all bulls issued. The papal practice of giving, or 
 sending, a golden rose as a mark of high approval is 
 also well known. On the other hand, the flower on 
 the Mohun shield was not a rose, but a fleur-de-lys, 
 and it was almost certainly there before the foundation 
 of Newenham Abbey. ^ If it is difficult to see the 
 connexion between a rose and a fleur-de-lys, it is no 
 less difficult to see the connexion between Est and 
 Somerset. There is, however, no reason to suppose 
 that the whole story was a deliberate fabrication. 
 The far-fetched identification of Est with Somerset, 
 
 ' Description of Somerset (S. R. S.), * See Appendix, 
 
 pp. 18,20.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 25 
 
 and that of the golden rose with the little flower 
 on the Mohun shield may fairly be regarded as 
 explanatory notes inserted by the Abbot. The Pope 
 may possibly have bestowed the golden rose on Rey- 
 nold de Mohun, a man of distinction in England and 
 a zealous churchman, and may have created him a 
 Count Palatine, with the words " Comes esto. " 
 
 The idea that Innocent the Fourth affected to 
 bestow any territorial title upon Reynold de Mohun 
 must be altogether dismissed. The latter never 
 claimed to be Earl of Somerset, and was never so 
 described by his contemporaries. Special attention 
 may be called to a charter issued by him under the 
 name of ' Reynold de Moun, knight, lord of Dun- 
 sterre, ' in 1255, some years after the departure of 
 Innocent the Fourth from Lyons, and to the official 
 registers of Newenham Abbey, in which, if anywhere, 
 a higher title borne by the founder would certainly 
 have been mentioned. ^ 
 
 There is indeed one document which, if authentic, 
 would point to a different conclusion, and which, 
 consequently, cannot be passed over in silence. In 
 the early part of the reign of Edward the Third, the 
 Abbot and Convent of Newenham got into Htigation 
 about some of their property, and, as a precautionary 
 measure, they, in 1330, obtained royal confirmation 
 of the charter of foundation by Reynold de Mohun 
 and of various gifts by other benefactors. ^ This, 
 however, did not prove sufficient for their purpose, 
 and, in i 340, they sent up another charter purporting 
 to have been issued by ' Reynold de Moun, Earl of 
 Somerset and lord of Dunsterre. ' The clerks of 
 
 ' Rowe's Cistercian Houses of Devon, ^ Davidson, pp. 22g-23i ; Calendar of 
 
 pp. 140,141 ; Oliver's MonasUcon Dice- Patent Rolls, 1327-1330, p. 508. 
 cesis Exon. pp. 362,363.
 
 26 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 the Chancery duly affixed the great seal of England 
 to a confirmation of it, on receipt of the usual fees, 
 but they seem to have had some suspicion of it, for, 
 in the preamble of the letters patent they described 
 the grantor as ' sometime Earl, and lord of Dunsterre,' 
 omitting the reference to a specific territorial earldom. 
 
 The charter thus confirmed is obviously based to 
 some extent upon the authentic charter of foundation, 
 and follows it in alluding to the Abbey as not yet 
 established, but the form of it is different and it 
 defines the franchises of Axminster in a manner 
 characteristic of the fourteenth century rather than 
 the thirteenth. Among other things, it professes to 
 grant exemption from the sherifFs tourn, a matter 
 on which the monks had been challenged as far back 
 as the reign of Edward the First, when they had 
 failed to produce anything more specific than the 
 authentic charter of foundation. Lastly, it should 
 be observed that the names of two of the alleged 
 witnesses are clearly inconsistent with the date ascribed 
 to the charter. Richard le Blond, Bishop of Exeter, 
 appears in it as ' W. Bishop of Exeter, ' and the 
 Christian name of the Earl of Oxford is given as 
 ' W ' instead of Hugh. ^ 
 
 When this document had served its purpose, it 
 seems to have been prudently destroyed, and it was 
 not even entered in either of the official chartularies 
 of the Abbey. ^ The same may be observed with 
 regard to a palpable forgery purporting to be a 
 charter of Henry the Third, of which the monks of 
 
 • Patent Roll, 14 Edw. HI. pt. i. m. transcript of 1624 in the British Mu- 
 
 T,y,Placila de Quo Warranto, p. 165; seum. While Davidson's version agrees 
 
 Newenham Chartulary, f. 42. fairly with the Patent Roll, Oliver 
 
 - The royal confirmation is printed has, without a word of explanation or 
 
 by Davidson (pp. 233-235) and by Oliver apology, improved the names of two 
 
 (pp. 361, 362), in both cases from a of the witnesses (pp. 366, 367).
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 27 
 
 Newenham obtained royal confirmation in 1393.^ 
 Sir Reynold de Mohun died on the 20th of Janu- 
 ary 1257-8. One of the Cistercians of Newenham, 
 possibly the Abbot, Walter de la Houe, has left the 
 following account of his last days : — 
 
 " In the year of our Lord 1257, on the 13th Calends of 
 February, Sunday the feast of Saints Fabian and Sebastian, 
 Sir Reynold de Mohun, lord of Dunster and founder of 
 Newenham Abbey, went the way of all flesh at Torre in 
 Devonshire, and this was the manner of his end. When 
 the aforesaid Sir Reynold was seized with severe illness at 
 Torre, he sent and summoned a Friar Minor named Henry, 
 a learned man who was at that time ruling a school of theo- 
 logy at Oxford. " 
 
 " The aforesaid Friar came to him at Torre on the 
 Wednesday before the death of the aforesaid Reynold, and 
 heard his confession, and, as it seemed to him, he confessed 
 his sins truly, contritely, devoutly and fully. After this, 
 at daybreak on the following Friday, the said Friar Henry 
 came to Reynold where he lay, and Sir Reynold said to 
 him : — ' I have seen a vision this night in a dream. I im- 
 ' agined myself to be in the Abbey Church of the White 
 ' Monks and, when leaving it, 1 met a venerable person clad 
 ' as a pilgrim, and he said : — ' Reynold, it is left to your 
 ' choice either to come with me now in safety, and without 
 ' peril, or to wait here until the week before Easter next, 
 ' in danger, ' I replied : — ' My Lord, I will not wait, but will 
 ' follow thee forthwith, ' and, indeed, 1 was fain to follow 
 ' him. He said : — ' Thou shalt not follow me now as thou 
 
 * desirest, but thou shalt come to me in safety on the third 
 
 * day. ' And he added: — ' This was the dream that 1 saw. 
 
 " The aforesaid friar, after many words of consolation, 
 returned to his bed, lay down there, and slept a while, and 
 it seemed to him in his dream that he was in the aforesaid 
 church of the Cistercian order, and he beheld a venerable 
 man, clad in a stately white robe, leading a boy fairer than 
 
 ' Patent Roll, 17 Ric. U. part i. m. 18. Dr. Oliver prints the confirmation 
 without a suspicion of the character of the charter inspected.
 
 28 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 the sun and in a garment brighter than the clearest crystal, 
 from the font to the altar, like a child newly baptized. To 
 him he said : — * Good Lord, whose is this child ? ' And the 
 man answered : — ' This is the soul of the venerable ' Sir Rey- 
 nold de Mohun. ' And when he woke, the aforesaid friar 
 understood that his dream was a token in corroboration of 
 the dream of Sir Reynold and had the like meaning. " 
 
 " The third day having now arrived. Sir Reynold said 
 to the aforesaid friar Henry : — ' Repeat to me Prime and 
 Tierce, for my hour is very near at hand. ' Now it was his 
 wont to hear the whole divine service daily, and the friar 
 consented. The said Sir Reynold said : — ' For God's sake, 
 * speak quickly, for my hour is at hand. ' This done, the 
 aforesaid friar went to the church to celebrate mass. The 
 introit of the mass was Circumdederiint ine^ etc. as for one 
 deceased, and all things were in like form. Mass being- 
 ended, the aforesaid friar returned in his sacred vestments 
 carrying the Body of the Lord, in order to strengthen the 
 said Sir Reynold by the receiving of the Body and Blood 
 of the Lord. On his entering the chamber, the aforesaid 
 Reynold wished to rise from his bed, but he could not, by 
 reason of his exceeding weakness. About ten persons were 
 standing around, and to them he said : — ' Alas ! Why do 
 ' ye not suffer me to rise to meet my Saviour and Redeem- 
 ' er .'' ' These were his last words. Henry then gave him the 
 Communion and afterwards anointed him. Then the afore- 
 said friar, with the other priests and clerks there present, be- 
 gan the Commendation. After this, as Sir Reynold was still 
 alive, they began to say the Commendation again, and when 
 they had recited the words : — ' All ye saints, pray for him, ' 
 he fell asleep in the Lord, without a groan or any apparent 
 pain, with his body laid out and straightened, and his mouth 
 and eyes closed, without help of anyone such as is wont to 
 be given to men after they have breathed their last. " 
 
 The corpse w^as in due course removed from Torre 
 to New^enham Abbey and there buried beside the 
 high altar. The writer of the foregoing narrative, 
 who does not profess to be a contemporary, adds : —
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 29 
 
 " When the pavement of the presbytery was laid, his 
 body was found in his sarcophagus, whole and in no wise 
 injured, and it remains to this day incorrupt, exhaling a 
 most fragrant odour. This very body I have seen and 
 touched, and for three days it lay open to public view in 
 the year of our Lord 1333. " ^ 
 
 Sir Reynold de Mohun married two wives, the 
 first of whom was unquestionably named Hawis. 
 Several of his benefactions already noticed were 
 made for the benefit of her soul. As far back as 
 the year 1350, John Osberne, the untrustworthy 
 chronicler of the Mohun family, described her as a 
 sister of William Mandeville, Earl of Essex. ^ Dugdale, 
 perceiving perhaps that this nobleman was contemp- 
 orary with Sir Reynold's father, makes her a sister 
 of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Essex, although he 
 professes to get his information from the very book 
 which calls Humphrey her cousin. ^ Others have 
 chosen to describe her a daughter of John Fitz 
 Geoffrey. * On the other hand, two quarterly shields 
 of the later Mohuns give the arms of Fleming 
 immediately after those of Briwere, thus suggesting 
 that a Mohun married a Fleming heiress in the 
 thirteenth century. ^ Such evidence is not of much 
 intrinsic value, but it acquires force when found to be 
 consistent with definite facts. Sir William Pole has 
 preserved copies of two deeds by which William son 
 of William Fleming conveyed to Reynold de Mohun 
 the manors of Ottery and Stoke, and a third deed by 
 which Geoffrey de Mandeville, the overlord, ap- 
 
 1 Newenham Chartulary, ff. 26 b, 27. Mohun Chronicle. 
 
 There are independent translations in ^ Baronage of England, vol. i. p. 497. 
 
 Davidson's Newenham Abbey (pp. 211- ■• Harl. MS. 807, f. 73; The Visitation 
 
 214) and Oliver's Ecclesiastical Antiqui- of Cornwall, 1620. 
 
 ties in Devon (vol. i. pp. 206-208). * The Visitation of Devon, 1620 ; 
 
 * St. George's extracts from the Monument in Lanteglos Church.
 
 30 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 proved William Fleming's grants to Reynold de 
 Mohun of the manors of Stoke, Ottery, Olditch and 
 Pinford. ^ Although the original conveyances are not 
 extant, it further appears that the manors of Luppit 
 and Farway, also in Devonshire, passed from the 
 Flemings to the Mohuns. ^ In support of his own 
 story, John Osberne states that William de Mande- 
 ville. Earl of Essex, granted the manors of Streatley, 
 in Berkshire, to Reynold de Mohun, to be held by 
 him by service of a quarter of a fee. ^ If Reynold 
 married before the Earl's death in 1227, this is 
 likely enough. He certainly had a house at Streatley 
 in 1233, and there is no reason to suppose that he 
 bought this property in a distant county. * The nature 
 of the transaction becomes clearer when we find that 
 the Earls of Essex were merely the overlords of 
 Streatley, and that William Fleming held three 
 quarters of a fee there in the middle of the thirteenth 
 century. " Lastly, attention may be drawn to the 
 fact that, in 1283, one of the buildings at Dunster 
 Castle was known as the ' Fleming Tower, ' doubtless 
 that which was afterwards called ' Dame Hawis's 
 Tower.' ^ In defiance therefore of the older genealog- 
 ists, we may fairly hold that Sir Reynold de Mohun 
 married firstly Hawis daughter and heiress of 
 William Fleming. By her he had at least four 
 children : — 
 
 John, who predeceased him. Little is known about 
 him except that he died in Gascony between 1252 
 and I 254. His body was brought back to England 
 and buried at Bruton Priory, while his heart was 
 
 ' MS. at Queen's College, Oxford, Mohun Chronicle, 
 ff. 13, iS"*, 21. ■• Close Rolls, 12^^1-1234, P- 226. 
 
 ^ Testa de Ncvill, p. 178 ; Feudal ^ Feudal Aids, vol. i. p. 65 ; Testa de 
 
 Aids, vol i. p. 330. Nerill, pp. ill, 125. 
 
 ^ St. George's extracts from the " See Chapter xi.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 31 
 
 buried at Newenham Abbey before the high 
 altar. ^ In 1254, Reynold de Mohun entered into 
 an elaborate agreement with the Prior and Convent 
 of Bath as to certain masses that were to be said 
 for the benefit of the soul of his eldest son John, 
 then deceased, of his own soul and of the souls of 
 his wives, his ancestors and his successors. The 
 monks thereby undertook that mass should be 
 celebrated daily to the end of time by one of their 
 own number attached to the Priory of Dunster, or 
 by a respectable secular chaplain, " in the upper 
 chapel " of Dunster Castle dedicated to St. Stephen, 
 unless prevented by war, by ecclesiastical interdict, 
 or by order of the castellan, in any of which 
 events it was to be celebrated in the chapel of 
 St. Lawrence belonging to the Priory below 
 {inferius). To ensure due performance of this, 
 they gave Reynold de Mohun right of distraint 
 upon their land at Alcombe. He on his side 
 granted to them fifty marks for the purchase of 
 rents and undertook that the necessary books, 
 vestments, lights and ornaments should be provided 
 by himself and his heirs, owners of the Castle. 
 Although the Prior's deed is dated at Ottery, 
 in Devonshire, the witnesses came from the neigh- 
 bourhood of Dunster. ^ 
 
 John de Mohun had married Joan daughter of 
 William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, a younger 
 sister of his stepmother, and by her he left issue: — 
 
 John, his heir. 
 
 Robert. ' 
 
 » 0]x\&v'^ Monasticon DioccesisExon. vol. i. Y>^.202,2\i;Calendar of Patent 
 
 pp. 362. 363. Rolls, 12^2-1281, p. 189. An elder 
 
 - b C M XVI I. A copy on paper, brother Reynold is also mentioned, 
 
 endorsed " For the Castell Masse. " perhaps in error. Curia Regis Roll, no. 
 
 * Palgrave's Parliamentary Writs, i6o, m. 34".
 
 32 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 John de Mohun seems to have been a tenant in 
 chief in right of his wife. After his death, the 
 King granted her marriage to Peter de Chauvent. 
 The widow, however, chose to marry Robert 
 Aguylon and he had to pay a forfeit of 200 marks 
 to the grantee. ^ 
 
 AUce, married, while a mere child, to William de 
 Clinton, the younger, who settled on her land to 
 the considerable value of 40/. a year. ^ She after- 
 wards married Robert de Beauchamp the younger 
 of Hatch, in Somerset. To them her father. Sir 
 Reynold, conveyed an estate known as ' the Soke 
 of Mohun, ' with appurtenances, liberties and ad- 
 vowsons in the City of London and without, between 
 Fleet Bridge and Charing Cross. ^ This they, ere 
 long, alienated to the Abbot and Convent of West- 
 minster. * 
 
 Juliana, married to William de Lisle. To them her 
 father gave an estate at Walton in Northamptonshire 
 which was part of the Briwere inheritance. ^ 
 
 Lucy, married to John de Grey of Codnor. ^ 
 
 Sir Reynold de Mohun's second wife was Isabel 
 relict of Sir Gilbert Basset, and daughter of William 
 de Ferrers, Earl of Derby, With her he received in 
 frank marriage ten hides of land at Mildenhall, in 
 Wiltshire, and afterwards a share of the great inher- 
 itance of her maternal uncles the Marshals, successive 
 Earls of Pembroke. She died in 1 260. ^ By her he 
 had issue : — 
 
 ' Calendar of Patent RoUs,i 24^-1 2 ^8, " St. George's extracts from the 
 
 p. 495; Curia Regis Rolls, no. i8i, tn. 11; Mohun Chronicle, 
 
 no. 160. m. 34''. ' Testa dc Ncvill, p. 153 ; Close 
 
 - Close Rolls, 1234-123^, p. 505. Rolls, 36 Hen. HI. mm. 22, 17, i"* ; 37 
 
 * Beauchamp Chartulary, f. loi. Hen. HI. mm. 19, 11 ; 39 Hen. HI. 
 
 * Feet of Fines, Divers Counties, 36 m. 24'' ; Patent Roll, 37 Hen. HI. m. 18 ; 
 Hen. HI. Inq. postmortem, C.Hen.HI. file 25(13). 
 
 * Ibid. 40 Hen. HI.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 33 
 
 Sir William, who was born in 1254. He was con- 
 sequently a mere boy at the time of his mother's 
 death. ^ In 1262, the King sold his wardship and 
 marriage to William la Zouche for 200 marks. ^ 
 Through his mother, he inherited the manors of 
 Mildenhall, in Wiltshire, and Greywell, in Hamp- 
 shire, lands at Sturminster Marshal, in Dorset, and 
 Magor near Monmouth, and a larger estate in 
 Kildare and Kilkenny. He also obtained from his 
 half-nephew, John de Mohun of Dunster, the 
 manors of Galmton, Stoke Fleming and Ottery 
 called afterwards Ottery Mohun, and other property 
 in Devonshire, all, however, subject to the over- 
 lordship of the head of the family. ^ In 1 277, he 
 was summoned to perform military service in per- 
 son against Llewellyn, Prince of Wales. * Three 
 years later, he went on pilgrimage to Santiago in 
 Spain. ' He ought to have attended a muster at 
 Rhuddlan at the beginning of August 1282, but 
 he died on the 17th of that month at his home at 
 Ottery. ^ He was buried near his father in the 
 choir of Newenham Abbey. ^ 
 By Beatrice, his wife. Sir William de Mohun had 
 issue four children : — 
 
 Reynold, who died under age in 1284. 
 Eleanor, who was born at Stoke Fleming, in 
 August 1 28 I, and married John de Carew. ^ 
 
 > Inquisition, as above ; Calendar of overlooked, removes all difinculty. 
 
 Close Rolls, 1272-1279, pp. 287, 296. * Palgrave's Parliamentary Writs, 
 
 * Excerpta e Rotulis Finium, vol. ii. vol. i. p. 194. 
 
 p. 365. » Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1272-1281 
 
 » Feudal Aids, vol. i. pp. 317, 3I9. PP- 36i, 364- 
 
 329, 331. Sir William de Mohuns « Inq. post mortem, C. Edw. I. file 
 
 possession of lands formerly belonging 30 (8) ; file 39 (6) ; Money's History of 
 
 to his stepmother's family was a cause Ncivbury, p. 122. 
 
 of error to me in 1880, and afterwards ' Oliver's Monasticon DioecesisExon. 
 
 to Mr. Hunt (Dictionary of National p. 363. 
 
 Biographv, vol. xxxviii, p. mi. The ** Inq. post mortem. C. Edw. I. file 25, 
 
 condition of his tenure, which 1 had nos. 43, 123.
 
 34 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 Margaret, who died under age. 
 
 Mary, who was born posthumously at Mildenhall, 
 in December 1282, and married Sir John of 
 Meriet before she was fourteen years of age. ^ 
 
 The wardship of the heir, and afterwards of the 
 co-heirs, was given to Eleanor, the King's mother. ^ 
 In 1288, Beatrice de Mohun paid 100/. for royal 
 licence to marry a second husband. She was a 
 desirable widow, as she had a considerable dower. ^ 
 
 James, a clerk. While a student at Oxford in 1267, 
 he received a royal grant of two oaks from Shot- 
 over for his fuel. * In due course he proceeded to 
 the degree of Master. He was only in subdea- 
 con's orders when instituted to the rectory of 
 Walkhampton in Devonshire, in 1 276. ^ The par- 
 sonage of Brompton which he afterwards obtained 
 cannot be located with any certainty. ^ He had 
 a small estate of his own at Horswell and South 
 Milton, in Devonshire. ' He was living in Decem- 
 ber 1322.^ By a will proved early in the follow- 
 ing year, he bequeathed a messuage near Newgate 
 to the Prior and Convent of St. Bartholomew's, 
 Smithfield, in order that they should provide two 
 chaplains to say mass daily for his soul, one in their 
 own church and the other in the church of 
 St. Sepulchre. ^ 
 
 Isabel, who is said to have married Edmund Deyn- 
 court. ^^ 
 
 * Ibid. 29 Edw. I. no. 6; C. Edw. HI. pp. Ii8, 213. 
 
 Ale 2 [S) ; Calendar of Close Rolls, 1 2g6- ^ Feudal Aids, vol. i. pp. 324, 351, 
 
 1302, pp. 134, 148. 396. 
 
 * Calendar o/Palciii Rolls, 1 2Si-i2g2, " Calendar of Patent Rolls, i$2i- 
 pp. 52, 128, 468. ^324, p. 230 ; Feet of Fines, Divers 
 
 * Ihid. p. 298; Calendar of Close Counties, 11 Edw. II. 
 
 Rolls, i2yQ-i2SS, p. 198. ^ Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1321- 
 
 * Close Roll, 52 Hen. III. m. 12. 1324, p. 283. 
 
 •'' Bronscombe's Register, 1". 76. '" St. George's extracts from the 
 
 * Calendar of Patent Rolls, I2g2-i 301, Mohun Chronicle.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 35 
 
 John de Mohun, son of John, son of Reynold, 
 was a minor at the time of his grandfather's death, 
 and as soon as the news of it reached Windsor, the 
 King granted his wardship and marriage and the 
 charge of his estates to Queen Eleanor. ^ On the 
 ist of August 1265, Sir William of Berkeley landed 
 at Minehead with a number of Welshmen, intending 
 to ravage the county of Somerset. Adam Gurdon, 
 who was then warden of Dunster Castle, at once 
 sallied out to meet them and put them to flight. 
 Those who escaped the sword were drowned." Gurdon 
 is known to have been an adherent of the insurgent 
 barons, and to have collected a number of their 
 partisans at Dunster. ^ He was, however, ejected 
 soon after the battle of Evesham, and Alan Plugenet 
 was placed in command of the fortress in his stead. * 
 The wardship of the Mohun lands was afterwards 
 transferred from the Queen to Richard, King of 
 Almain. 
 
 On attaining his majority, John de Mohun did 
 homage to Henry the Third, and he obtained Hvery of 
 his inheritance in October 1269. ' He was summon- 
 ed in 1 277 to do military service against Llewellyn, 
 Prince of Wales, and he went accompanied by his 
 brother Robert de Mohun and Thomas du Pyn. ^ He 
 was Httle more than thirty years of age at the time 
 of his death in 1279. The inquisitions then taken 
 give valuable information about the knights' fees 
 belonging to the Honour of Dunster, and show that 
 he held in his own hands the manors of Dunster, 
 
 1 Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1 247-1 2 =^8, ^ Miscellaneous Inquisitions, 
 
 pp. 614, 616 ; Close Rolls 42 Hen. Ill, * Patent Roll, 49 Hen. 111. m. 10. 
 
 ni. 10 ; 49 Hen. III. m. 6 ; Assize Roll. ^ Close Roll, 53 Hen. III. m. i 
 
 no 1203 m 4 ^ Palgrave's Parliameittary Writs, 
 
 •' Willelmi Rishanger Chronica (R.S.), vol. i. pp. 195, 202, 210, 211 ; Calendar 
 
 p. 41. of Patent Rolls, 1272-128 1, p. 189.
 
 36 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 Carhampton, Cutcombe, Minehead, Kilton and He 
 Brewer in Somerset, Whichford in Warwickshire, 
 Bradworthy, Torre Mohun, Cadleigh and Ugborough 
 in Devonshire, and Luton in Bedfordshire. ^ They 
 do not make any mention of the manor of Streatley, 
 which had been let to Maud, Countess of Hereford, 
 for her Hfe. " 
 
 By Eleanor Fitzpiers, his wife, Sir John de Mohun 
 left an only son, John. The widow Eleanor married 
 Sir William Martin. ' 
 
 John de Mohun the third was of course a minor 
 at the time of his father's death. The right of 
 tendering a suitable lady to him in marriage at the 
 proper time was granted by the Crown to Robert 
 Tibetot in July 1279. "* His lands meanwhile proved 
 useful for the satisfaction of different annuities that had 
 been promised by the King. The manor and castle 
 of Dunster were thus committed, in May 1280, to 
 Francesco d'Accorso, the learned civilian whom 
 Edward the First had brought from Bologna to assist 
 him in the administration of public affairs. ' The 
 manors of Whichford and He Brewer were similarly 
 committed to Amaury de St. Amand. ' In June 1 28 i , 
 John de Vescy, a first cousin of the late John de 
 Mohun, obtained a definite grant of Dunster Castle 
 and other lands until the heir should come of age. ' 
 The Abbot of Cleeve and the Prior of Dunster were 
 made responsible to him for the arms and armour, 
 necessary for the defence of the Castle, that had 
 
 1 Inq.postmortem,C.Ed\v.I.file22(i); * Calendar of Patent Rolls 12^2-1281, 
 
 file 43 (6). p. 318- 
 
 - Feet of Fines, Berks, i Edw. I. * /fe/'rf. p. 374; Maxwell Lyte's H/s/or)- 
 
 * Inquisitions, as above ; F<;»rf<7/^/(/5, of the University of Oxford, pp. 88, 89. 
 
 vol. i. pp. 318, 349, 352, 380; vol. iv. ^ Calendaro/Putent Rolls, 12^2-1281, 
 
 pp. 302, 334 ; Calendar of Close Rolls, p. 444. 
 
 i272-i27g, pp. 539, 540 ; Calendar of ' Ibid. 1281-121)2, p. 8 ; Calendar of 
 
 Charter Rolls, vol. ii. p. 264. Close Rolls, i27g-i28S, p. 149.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 37 
 
 been temporarily placed in their respective houses. ^ 
 The young heir himself continued in the wardship 
 of the King under the charge of a tutor named John 
 Launcelewe, and the accounts of the royal wardrobe 
 record payments for his saddles, bridles, leggings and 
 spurs. ^ He obtained livery of his lands in 1290, 
 from which it may be inferred that he was born 
 in 1269. ^ 
 
 In the course of a fairly long life, John de Mohun 
 did something towards consolidating his scattered 
 estates. Thus, in 1299, he made over to the King 
 all his share of the Marshal inheritance in Kildare, 
 in exchange for the manor of Long Compton, in 
 Warwickshire, adjoining his own manor of Which- 
 ford. * There is also reason to believe that he 
 exchanged the manor of He Brewer in Somerset, 
 some twenty-four miles from Dunster, for that of 
 Goring, in Oxfordshire, separated only by the Thames 
 from his own manor of Streatley. ' 
 
 It would be tedious to enumerate the different 
 expeditions in which Sir John de Mohun did military 
 service against the French in Gascony and Flanders, 
 against the Welsh, and, more frequently, against the 
 Scots, but it may be noted that on one occasion he 
 is described as a banneret. In February 1299, he 
 received his first writ of summons to Parliament. ** 
 According to modern ideas, he thus became a heredi- 
 tary peer, and he is therefore called Lord Mohun 
 in numerous books and pedigrees. No such titles 
 
 ' Calendar of Patent Rolls, I28i-i2g2, Rolls of Ireland, 12Q5-IS03, pp. 369-371. 
 p. 24. ' Feudal Aids, vol. iv. pp. 154, 170, 
 
 * Miscellanea, Chancery, bundle 4. 176, 291, 314. 
 
 ^ Calendar of Patent Rolls, I28i-i2g2, * Calendar of Close Rolls, 1296-1302, 
 
 p. 356. pp. 7, 22, 98, 346 ; Palgrave's Parlia- 
 
 * Originalia Roll, 8 Edw. I. m. 14 ; mentary Writs, vol. i. p. 740; vol. ii. 
 Calendar of Close Rolls, 1296-1302, pp. 1176-1178 ; Calendar of Patent 
 p. 324 ; Calendar of Charter Rolls, Rolls, 1301-1302, p. 231. 
 
 vol. ii. p. 480 ; Calendar of the Justiciary
 
 38 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 were, however, known in his day. In the famous 
 letter of the EngUsh barons to the Pope, he is simply 
 styled 'John de Mohun, lord of Dunsterre. ' By 
 virtue of his tenure he was indeed, like his ancestors, 
 one of the Greater Barons of the realm, but a writ 
 of summons did not at that period confer any title 
 upon the recipient. He was never styled ' Lord de 
 Mohun ' in his lifetime, and Sir Hugh Luttrell, who 
 sat in the House of Commons in the reign of Henry 
 the Fourth, was just as truly ' lord of Dunster ' as 
 any of the Mohuns, and was often so styled. 
 
 When Edward the Second was about to be 
 crowned, thirty-two ecclesiastics, and a hundred and 
 eight of the principal nobles and officers of state 
 were summoned to attend the ceremony, and John de 
 Mohun was of course included in the number. He, 
 or his namesake, John Mohun of Ham, was implicated 
 in the proceedings of Thomas, Earl of Lancaster, 
 but he seems to have adhered to the King when the 
 Earl rose in open rebellion some years later. Writs 
 of summons to successive Parliaments and Councils 
 continued to be issued to him until July 1330^ 
 Attendance in Parliament was then more of a burden 
 than of an honour, and the recipients of such writs 
 were sometimes allowed to send proxies. * Thus it 
 was that, in 1329, when John de Mohun was aged 
 and infirm, he obtained specific licence to send his 
 son Robert — who was not his heir — to do military 
 service in his stead and to occupy his seat in Parlia- 
 ment. ^ 
 
 John de Mohun the third was married twice. 
 His first wife was Ada Tibetot, presumably a daughter 
 
 ' Palgrave, as above. vol. iv. pp. 408, 462. 
 
 - Palj^rave, vol. ii. p. 267 ; Report on ^ Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1327-1 330, 
 
 the Dignity of a Peer, vol. iii. p. 166 ; p. 383.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 39 
 
 of Robert Tibetot to whom his marriage had been 
 granted. By her he had issue seven or eight sons 
 and one daughter ^ : — 
 
 Sir John de Mohun the fourth. He married in May 
 1305, Christian, daughter of Sir John Segrave, 
 who had a fortune of 400/. In consideration of 
 this sum, his father undertook to maintain them 
 and to give her a dower of 100 marks a year in 
 the event of his surviving her husband, who would 
 otherwise succeed to property valued at 600/. a 
 year. " It is clear that the young couple were 
 under age at the time. Little is known about 
 John de Mohun the fourth except that he fought 
 at the battle of Boroughbridge in 1322, and died 
 in Scotland during the lifetime of his father. ^ A 
 statement that he was buried in the church of the 
 Grey Friars at York rests upon very questionable 
 authority. * 
 He left issue : — 
 
 John de Mohun the fifth. 
 
 Margaret, who married John de Carew. 
 
 Elizabeth, who died without issue. ^ 
 
 Sir Robert, already mentioned. He married Eliza- 
 beth, daughter and heir of Simon de Roges of 
 Porlock. The marriage does not seem to have 
 turned out happily, for, after his murder about the 
 end of I 3 3 I , his relict and her mother were ahke 
 suspected of being privy to the crime. Very Httle 
 is known about the circumstances beyond the fact 
 that a neighbour, John of Luccombe, was the 
 
 ' Archcsological Journal, vol. xxxvii, vol. ii. part 2, p. 198. 
 
 p. 89. ^ The Visitation of Devon, 1620. 
 
 2 Patent Roll, 33 Edw. I. part i. m. 9. '- Archceological journal, as above. 
 ^ Palgrave's Parliamentary Writs,
 
 40 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 chief person implicated. The widow soon married 
 another husband, Sir Robert of Stockhey. ^ The 
 date of her death is not recorded, but she must 
 have been succeeded by a son, for, in 1353, there 
 is mention of John de Mohun of Porlock, knight, 
 who is elsewhere described as son of Sir Robert 
 de Mohun. ' The Mohuns of Fleet, in Dorset, 
 claimed descent from him. ^ 
 Baldwin, a clerk. He received the first tonsure from 
 the Bishop of Bath and Wells in 131 5, but he did 
 not obtain any preferment in the west of England, 
 and there are some grounds for supposing that he 
 married a lady of the Clavering family. * In i 342, 
 he served on several judicial commissions in War- 
 wickshire, apparently in the capacity of a local 
 magnate. ' In that very year, however, he again 
 turned his thoughts to the church, and powerful 
 patrons, the Earl of Lancaster and Queen Isabella, 
 recommended him to the Pope for a canonry \ 
 Although described in 1342 as holding the church 
 of Whichford, which was in the gift of his nephew, 
 Sir John de Mohun, he was not actually instituted 
 thereto until 1344. A parson appointed in the 
 previous year may have been put in for a time, 
 while he was qualifying by proceeding to priest's 
 orders. ^ At some later date, he held the living of 
 Fordingbridge. ^ In 1348, he was presented by 
 the King to the prebend of Warminster in the 
 
 • Chadwyck Hez\ey's History of part ioo;Dngd:i\e's Antiquities of Warwick- 
 
 of West Somerset, PY^. 2 ^^-2^2. s/n/r, (ed. 1765) p. 418. 
 
 - Calendar of Ctosc Rolls, 134Q-13S4, * Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1340- 
 
 p. 619 ; GasconKoll, 24 Edw. III. m. 2.: 1343, pp. 448, 559, 590. 
 
 Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1343-JJ4S, " Calendar of Petitions to the Pope, 
 
 p. 133. Mr. Chadwyck Healey did not vol. i, pp. 7, 26. 
 
 know of the entry on the Close Roll. ^ Dugdale, as above. 
 
 ^ See Appendix. * Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1 350-1 334, 
 
 •• Drokensford's Register (S.R.S.) pp.69, p. 43.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 41 
 
 cathedral church of Salisbury, but he died in the 
 course of the next two years. ^ 
 
 Payn, first mentioned in 1323, when he received 
 episcopal licence to choose his own confessor. ^ In 
 the following year, he again had recourse to the 
 bishop in order to compel his father to deliver 
 50 marks and a cope adorned with gold and relics 
 which his mother Ada had bequeathed to him and 
 three of her other younger children. ^ After the 
 murder of his brother. Sir Robert, already men- 
 tioned, Payn de Mohun was very active in trying 
 to bring the guilty persons to justice. ^ From his 
 father he received the manor of Cutcombe, but 
 the gift was limited to the term of his life. " In 
 1344 and 1345, he went abroad with various 
 knights and others in the retinue of Henry of 
 Lancaster, Earl of Derby. ^ 
 
 Sir Reynold, ancestor of the Mohuns of Cornwall. ^ 
 
 Patrick, who received from his father the manor of 
 Bradworthy, in Devon, but only for the term of 
 his life. ^ He seems to have acted as receiver for 
 the relict of his nephew, the last Lady de Mohun of 
 Dunster, and she allowed him to live at Marsh- 
 wood. An arrangement to this effect was ratified, 
 in 1398, by her daughter, Lady Fitzwalter, who 
 claimed the reversion, which she never obtained \ 
 
 Hervey, who seems to have made himself useful to 
 several persons of importance. Lady Blanche Wake 
 obtained for him an annuity of i o marks from the 
 
 • Ibid. 134S-13SO, pp. Ill, 201 ; Rolls, 134S-1350, p. 58 ; Lay Subsidies. 
 
 Calendar of Petitions to the Pope, vol. i. 169/5. 
 
 p. 205. "^ Kymer's FcErffc-ra, vol. iii. pp. II, 40. 
 
 » Drokenford:s Register (S.R.S.)^.2it. ' See Appendix. 
 
 3 Ibid. p. 231. * Feet of Fines, as above. 
 
 < Chadwyck ilealey, as above. * D.C.M. ix. 3 ;xvii. t; xxxi. 2 ; Inq. 
 
 '" Feet of Fines, divers counties, 22 post mortem, 6 Hen. IV. no. 33. 
 Edw. ni (no. 422) \Calendar of Patent
 
 42 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 Crown. ^ Henry, Earl of Lancaster, her brother, 
 gave him an annuity of i o/. and Sir John de Mohun, 
 his own nephew, appointed him baiUfF of the Hun- 
 dred of Carhampton. ^ He died in 1349, the year 
 of the Black Death. ^ 
 
 Laurence, who is stated to have been the ancestor of 
 the Mohuns of Tavistoclc. Nothing, however, is 
 really known about him. * 
 
 Eleanor, who married Sir Ralph of Wellington, ap- 
 parently in 1324. ■' 
 
 Ada, the first wife of John de Mohun the third, 
 died in or before 1324. His second wife was Sibyl 
 relict of Sir Henry de Lorty. ^ In February 1325, 
 a priest named Robert of Plympton was appointed 
 confessor to Sir John de Mohun and Sibyl his wife \ 
 In June 1330, Sir John entered into a recognisance 
 to Bartholomew of Burghersh in the then colossal 
 sum of 10,000/. the intention of which is not stated, 
 although probably connected with a matrimonial 
 project.** He died a few weeks later, on the 25th 
 of August. ^ He had been more interested in the 
 Benedictines of Dunster than in the Augustinians of 
 Bruton or the Cistercians of Newenham, and he was 
 buried in their church, probably on the north side of 
 the chancel. ^^ The effigy of a widow in a richly 
 ornamented recess on the south side of the chancel 
 » 
 
 1 Calendar of Close Rolls, 134.6-1^49, '^ Proceedings of Somerset Archceolo- 
 
 pp. 27, 105, 203, 459, 562, 610. gical Society, vol. xlii. p. 46; Bishop 
 
 - Calendar of Patent Rolls,i 348-1350, Ralph's Register (S.R.S), pp. 49, 161, 189, 
 
 p. 370- 255. 
 
 ^ /fe/rf. p. 412. ' Drokensford'sRegtster{S.R.S.),p.240. 
 
 * As the Newenham Register states * Calendar of Close Rolls, 1 330-1 333, 
 that John de Mohun the third had seven p. 143. 
 
 sons and then proceeds to enumerate ^ CartulariesofMtichelney and Athel- 
 
 eight, the ' et' before the name of Lau- ney (S.R.S.), p. 27; Inq. post mortem, 
 
 rence should perhaps he a ' vel. ' C. Edvv. HI. file 22. 
 
 * Calendar of Close Rolls, 1323-1 32J, '" T^vo Chartularics of Bath{S.K.9,.), 
 p. 192 ; 1330-1333, P- 144 ; Calendar of L. p. 182. 
 
 Patent Rolls, 1 348-1 350, p. 200.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 43 
 
 dates from his time, and may fairly be taken to repre- 
 sent his mother, Christian. 
 
 It is repeatedly laid down in books on law " that 
 the widow of a baron shall not have dower out of 
 the caput baronice of her late husband. " ^ Nevertheless 
 the dower assigned by the Crown to Sibyl, Ladv de 
 Mohun, in 1330, comprised the castle and the manor 
 of Dunster, the former of which was the caput of an 
 ancient barony. To these was afterwards added a 
 third of the knights' fees pertaining thereto. ^ She 
 had, however, considerable difficulty in establishing 
 her rights. ^ In 1335, it was reported to the King 
 at Alnwick that she was dead, and no time was lost 
 in disposing of the lands which she held in dower, 
 but the report proved false, and she was certainly 
 living in 1337. * There is nothing more to be said 
 about her except that she kept a domestic chaplain, 
 presumably at Dunster. ^ 
 
 John de Mohun the fifth, was about ten years 
 old at the death of his grandfather in 1330.^ No 
 lord of Dunster had left an heir of full age since the 
 reign of Henry the Second, and the Crown had got 
 the benefit of six wardships there in the course of a 
 hundred and fifty-four years. Henry of Burghersh, 
 Bishop of Lincoln and Chancellor of England, a 
 worldly and avaricious prelate, obtained the marriage 
 of the young heir of Dunster and the custody of his 
 lands during minority, within six days of the death 
 of John de Mohun the third. ^ 
 
 1 Madox's Baronia Anglica, pp. lo, * Ibid. pp. 178, 505. 
 
 42; Cvmse'sDigiiitiesorTitlesof Honour '"Bishop Ralph's Register (S.R.S.), 
 
 etc. ' pp. 172, 308. 
 
 * Calendar of Close Rolls, 1330-1333, " Inq.post mortem, C.Edvv. HI. file 
 
 pp. 96, 481. 22. 
 
 ^ RotnliParliaina!toritm,vo].n. p. 71; ' Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1327- 
 
 Caleiidar of Patent Rolls, 1334-1338, 1330, P- 55^ ; Calendar of Close Rolls, 
 
 p. 127. 1330-1333, P- 96.
 
 44 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 After a few weeks, however, he fell into disgrace 
 at Court, and, in January 1331, the custody of 
 two thirds of the Mohun inheritance was transferred 
 to William of Ayreminne, Bishop of Norwich, who is 
 described as " crafty, covetous and treasonable. 
 Four years later, we find this prelate claiming com- 
 pensation from the Crown for the dower assigned to 
 Lady de Mohun, the widow, at Minehead. " In 
 1334, he is mentioned as holding some of the lands, 
 the remainder and the person of the young heir 
 being in the hands of Sir Bartholomew of Burghersh, 
 a half-brother of the Bishop of Lincoln. ^ It was at 
 the special request of Sir Bartholomew that John de 
 Mohun obtained livery of his lands in England 
 in 1 341, without proving that he was of full 
 age. * By this date, he had doubtless done what 
 was required of him by marrying the daughter 
 of his guardian, Joan of Burghersh, a lady who 
 plays a very important part in the history of Dunster. 
 
 Sir John de Mohun the fifth did military service 
 against the Scots in 1341.'^ In the following year 
 and again in 1345, he went abroad with his father- 
 in-law, who was a distinguished commander in the 
 wars of Edward the Third. ' At the battle of Crecy, 
 he was in the division of Edward, Prince of Wales, 
 which comprised " all the flower of the chivalry of 
 England. " ' He also took part in at least five 
 subsequent campaigns, accompanying the Prince of 
 Wales in 1359 and the Duke of Lancaster in 1373.*' 
 
 1 Calendar of- Patent Rolls, 1334- ^ Scotch Roll, 15 Edw. III. m. 2. 
 
 ^33^ P- 122 ; Calendar of Close Rolls, '^ French Rolls, 16 Edw. HI. m. 26 ; 
 
 1330-1333, P- 4.36. 19 Edw. III. m. 7. 
 
 " Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1 334-1 338, ' Wrottesley's Crecy and Calais, 
 
 p. 127. pp, 6, 29, 31, 79,82, 86, 99, III, 120, 275. 
 
 ' Calendar of Close Rolls, 1333- ** Dugdale's Baronage, vol. i. p. 498; 
 
 ^557i PP' I93i 218. Rymei's Fcedera, vol. iii. p. 443. 
 
 * Ibid. 1341-1343, p. 166.
 
 cH.i. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 45 
 
 One of his horses named ' Grisel Oris ' was a present 
 to him from the former of these great warriors. ^ 
 As a baron, Sir John de Mohun was summoned to a 
 council in 1 342, and he received writs to attend 
 different parHaments between 1348 and 1374.^ If 
 he had Hved in the following century, he would have 
 been formally described as ' Lord de Mohun ', and he 
 was sometimes so styled in his own lifetime. ^ On 
 the establishment of the Order of the Garter in the 
 year 1348, he was nominated one of the original 
 twenty-five knights. * 
 
 Sir John de Mohun seems to have shone more in 
 war than in peace. In i 344, he was indicted with 
 his uncles, Payn and Patrick de Mohun, and many 
 others for various felonies in the county of Somerset. ^ 
 Six years later, he got into serious trouble by attempt- 
 ing to interfere with the administration of justice. 
 John Durborough, one of the military tenants of the 
 Honour of Dunster, brought a suit against him to 
 recover some land, and when the King's judges were 
 sitting at Somerton to hear this and other cases, Sir 
 John attacked his adversary in the middle of the 
 town, pursued him as far as the churchyard and, 
 overtaking him there, carried him off on horseback 
 to Langport. Such violence could not be tolerated 
 even in a great baron, and, by order of the judges, 
 the sheriff raised the hue and cry against him and 
 rescued his captive. Sir John himself was commit- 
 ted to prison. The assize roll does not contain any 
 record of the proceedings, but the story is told in the 
 letters patent by which he obtained the royal pardon, 
 
 1 Beltz's Order of the Garter, p. 383. " Anstis's Register of the Order of the 
 
 * Report on the' Dignity of a Peer, Garter, vol. i. p. 49 ; vol. ii. p. 6. 
 
 vol. iv. pp. 539-661. * Assize Roll, no. 771 ; Calendar of 
 
 * D.C.M. IX. 2. Close Rolls, 1 343-1 346, p. 361.
 
 46 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 on the intercession of some of his peers. He did 
 not get off without making an ample apology, express- 
 ing his willingness to incur forfeiture of life and 
 limbs as well as of lands and goods, without hope of 
 mercy, if he should commit any similar offence in 
 the future. ^ 
 
 Associating with the greatest persons in the realm, 
 Sir John de Mohun seems from the very beginning 
 to have lived beyond his means. A brief will execut- 
 ed by him as early as September 1342, suggests that 
 he was already in difficulties. After leaving his 
 body to the regular canons of Bruton, he thereby 
 bequeathed all his moveable goods to his wife and Sir 
 Ivo de Glynton, a priest, in order that they should 
 pay his creditors in the city of London and afterwards 
 his other creditors, and do whatever they thought fit 
 for the benefit of his soul. ^ Later on, we find him 
 borrowing money from Sir James Audley and others. "* 
 
 In order to understand the history of Dunster and 
 the manors that went with it in the fourteenth cen- 
 tury, it becomes necessary to trace in some detail the 
 manner in which Sir John de Mohun the fifth dealt 
 with his ample inheritance. There is no record of 
 any settlement made at the time of his marriage, and 
 when he obtained livery of his lands, there were not 
 apparently any charges upon them except the life 
 interests of some of his uncles. Within the first few 
 years, however, he sold Cadleigh. * 
 
 On the 23rd of June 1346, royal licence was 
 granted for Sir John de Mohun to enfeoff William 
 of Fordham, clerk, and Maud of Bourton of the 
 castle and manor of Dunster with all knights' fees 
 
 ' Calendar of Patctif Rolls, i ^48-1^1^0, ^ Pole MS.at Queen's College Oxford, 
 
 p. 500. ff. 178, 179" ; Close Rolls, passim. 
 
 * D.C.M. XXXVII. 4. * Feudal Aids, vol. i. p. 424.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 47 
 
 and advowsons pertaining thereto, and the manors of 
 Carhampton, Minehead and Kilton, and for them to 
 re-convey to him and Joan his wife and the heirs of 
 their bodies, with remainder to his heirs general. ^ By 
 a deed purporting to be executed on the very same day 
 at Titchfield and witnessed by Sir John Durborough, 
 Sir Ralph Fitzurse, Sir Alexander Luttrell, John 
 Osberne, constable of Dunster, John of Bratton and 
 others, he formally conveyed the premises as above, 
 and he also appointed attorneys to deliver seisin. A 
 conjecture may be hazarded that William of Ford- 
 ham was the domestic chaplain at the Castle, and that 
 Maud of Bourton was a personal attendant of Lady 
 de Mohun. However this may be, they were mere 
 instruments. On the i 2th of July, they duly exe- 
 cuted a re-conveyance in the terms of the royal licence, 
 witnessed at Dunster by Sir John Durborough, Sir 
 Simon Furneaux, Sir Ralph Fitzurse, John Osberne 
 the constable, John of Bratton, John le Bret and John 
 Wosham. By this time Sir John de Mohun was 
 probably abroad, and there is no record of livery of 
 seisin to him. "^ It is more material to observe that 
 the transaction was carried further by a fine levied in 
 Michaelmas term, by which the premises were settled 
 on Sir John de Mohun and Joan his wife and the 
 heirs male of their bodies, with remainder to his 
 heirs general. ^ Whether the limitation to heirs 
 male was intended all along, or introduced as an after- 
 thought, it is impossible to say, but it had very 
 important consequences. It does not occur in an 
 otherwise similar settlement of the manor of Goring 
 made about the same time. * 
 
 1 Calendar ofPatnitRolh, I s^'^-x-.^S. » Feet of Fines. Somerset, 20 Edw. 
 
 p. 126. HI. (Gieen, ii. 234.) 
 
 - D.C.M. I. 13. ^ Inq. post mortem, 6 Hen.IV.no. 33.
 
 48 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 In March 1348, royal licence was obtained for Sir 
 John de Mohun to convey the reversion of the 
 manors of Cutcombe, Greywell and Sturminster 
 Marshal and certain lands at Carhampton and Kilton 
 to William Hothorp and Richard Cok, and for them 
 to re-convey to him and Joan his wife and the heirs 
 of their bodies, with remainder to his heirs general. ^ 
 A fine was accordingly levied of the premises, as 
 also of the reversion of the manors of Ugborough, 
 Bradworthy, Torre Mohun and Streatley, for which no 
 licence was needed, as they were not held in chief. ' 
 
 The first effect of the three fines mentioned above 
 was to give Lady de Mohun a life interest in almost 
 all the manors belonging to her husband in England. 
 Nevertheless he eventually managed to sell that of 
 Ugborough to Sir Neal Loring, who also bought his 
 property at Luton, in Bedfordshire. ^ 
 
 The next transaction appears to have been of the 
 nature of a mortgage. In 1350, Sir John de Mohun 
 and Joan his wife demised the castle of Dunster, with 
 its fees and advowsons, and Carhampton, Rodhuish 
 and Marshwood, to Sir Batholomew of Burghersh the 
 elder. Sir Bartholomew of Burghersh the younger 
 — her father and brother — Sir Peter de Veel, Sir Roger 
 la Ward, and Matthew of Clevedon, esquire, at the 
 nominal rent of a red rose for four years, and the exces- 
 sive rent of 400/ afterwards. "* They recovered pos- 
 session at the end of August 1355, and on the 3rd of 
 September,Sir John handed over to his wife forty-three 
 title deeds relating to the manors of Dunster, Mine- 
 head, Torre Mohun, Bradworthy and Ugborough. ^ 
 
 ' Calendar of Patent Rolls, I J48-1 350, Inquisitions ad quod damnum, file 386, 
 
 p. 58. no. 3. 
 
 * Feet of Fines, Divers Counties, 22 * D.C.M. i. 5. 
 
 Edw. III. ■' Ibid, and i. 6. 
 
 ^ Inq. post mortem, 6 Hen. IV. no 33 ;
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 49 
 
 By this date at any rate, Lady de Mohun was 
 aiming at something more than a Hfe interest in her 
 husband's estates. She seems indeed to have obtained 
 complete ascendency over him, either by the power 
 of the purse or by superior force of character. It 
 was for her, and not for him, that Walter de la Houe, 
 Abbot of Newenham, compiled a professedly historic- 
 al work which describes the first William de Mohun 
 as the noblest man in the whole army of William the 
 Conqueror, and recounts how Reynold de Mohun 
 was created Earl of Somerset by Pope Innocent. ^ 
 In the Latin supplement to it, written, in 1350, by 
 John Osberne, constable of Dunster, he describes him- 
 self as " the clerk and servant " of this " most 
 excellent and most beneficent " lady, " the daughter 
 of the most illustrious, active and noble knight. Sir 
 Bartholomew of Burghersh, the elder, " while her 
 husband is practically ignored. ^ 
 
 In 1369, Sir John and Lady de Mohun, having 
 no expectation of male issue, and relying on the fine 
 of 1346, in preference to the deed of conveyance 
 from William of Fordham and Maud of Bourton of 
 the same year, resolved to make a fresh settlement of 
 the nucleus of his hereditary property. Realising 
 perhaps that the validity of their proceedings might 
 some day be called in question, they took care, this 
 time, to select trustees of high social rank, Simon of 
 Sudbury, Bishop of London, Sir Aubrey de Vere, 
 knight, and Sir John of Burghersh, knight. By 
 letters patent issued on the 6th of July, the King 
 empowered Sir John and Lady de Mohun to convey 
 the manor and the hundred of Carhampton to these 
 three persons, who were at the same time empowered 
 
 1 See pp. 2, 3, 22-25, above. Mohun Chronicle ; Devon Notes and 
 
 - St. George's extracts from the Queries, vol. iv. p. 251. 
 
 H
 
 50 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 to dispose of them by alienation, gift, or demise, in 
 fee simple or otherwise, according to the pleasure 
 and order of the lady, conveyance in mortmain being 
 alone forbidden. ^ The first difficulty having been 
 thus overcome, it was comparatively simple to obtain 
 similar letters patent on the 24th and 26th of the 
 same month with regard to the castle of Dunster 
 and the manors of Minehead and Kilton. In the 
 second transaction, Richard, Earl of Arundel was 
 associated with the three trustees named above, but 
 he eventually retired. ^ The trustees seem to have 
 entered, for, in i 371, two of them appointed attorneys 
 to deliver to Patrick Everard and Joan his wife seisin 
 of some land in the manor of Minehead, and, in 
 1373, the Bishop granted to the same Patrick two 
 acres in the Hanger at Dunster between the ditch 
 of the vineyard and Brooklane. ^ 
 
 In 1374, Lady de Mohun arranged to sell the 
 reversion of the castle and manor of Dunster, the 
 manors of Minehead and Kilton, and the hundred of 
 Carhampton to Lady Elizabeth Luttrell, a widow of 
 noble birth. The purchaser paid a deposit of 200/. 
 to Lady de Mohun, Aubrey de Vere and Michael 
 atte Mede, upon condition that it should be refunded 
 to her in case the arrangement were not carried 
 through. It was distinctly recognised that the bargain 
 might fail " as in levying of the fine or of the grant 
 and lease of the castle, manors and hundred aforesaid 
 with all their appurtenances cutting off the remain- 
 der." * Sir John de Mohun's daughters may have raised 
 objections, and the Earl of Arundel's withdrawal 
 from the trust about this time is significant. By the 
 
 » D.C.M. I. 4; Patent Roll, 6 Hen. ^ d.C.M. i. 13. 
 
 IV. part 2, m. 27. * D.C.M. i. 7. 
 
 » /fe/W.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 51 
 
 summer of 1375, matters had not got beyond the 
 levying of a fine by which the premises were con- 
 veyed to the trustees absolutely. ^ Soon after this, Sir 
 John de Mohun died, the exact date being the 15th 
 of September 1 375. ^ He was duly buried at Bruton, 
 in accordance with the will already mentioned. In 
 the account of the bailiff of the hundred of Carhamp- 
 ton for 1387, there is a charge against the widow: — 
 
 " In holding the anniversary of the Lord de Mohun at 
 Bruton in the last year, not already claimed, and In the 
 present year, 21J. "^ 
 
 In John de Mohun the fifth, the senior male line 
 of the family came to an end. He left issue three 
 daughters, all of whom made brilliant matches : — 
 
 Elizabeth, the eldest, born at Goring in 1343.* She 
 married William of Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, 
 one of the original Knights of the Garter. ^ She 
 too was entitled to wear the robes of the Order. " 
 By a will dated in November 141 4, she left minute 
 instructions for her burial at Bisham Abbey oppos- 
 ite to the tomb of her husband, who had died in 
 1397.^ She died in the January following, without 
 issue. ^ 
 
 Philippa, the second, doubtless a god-daughter of the 
 Queen of Edward the Third. She married firstly 
 Sir Waher Fitzwalter, who died in 1386, secondly 
 Sir John Golafre, who died in 1396, and thirdly 
 
 1 Feet of Fines, Somerset, 48 Edvv. « Beltz's Memorials of the Order of 
 III. (Green, iii. 87.) the Garter, pp. 248, 249, 255. A 
 
 2 Exchequer Inquisitions, series i. statement there (p. 39) that she was 
 file 41 no. 23. " received into the sisterhood of the 
 
 3 D.'c.M. XXXI. 2. convent of St. Albans," in 1408, has 
 * Add. MS. 28649. f- 265. been misunderstood to mean that she 
 5 Planche gives tlie date of the took the veil. 
 
 marriage as 1361, but without citing ^ -UlcoXzs'iTeslamental ctiista,^.i^i. 
 
 any authority. Journal of British Mnq. post mortem, 4 Hen. V. no. 55. 
 
 Archceological Association, vol.ix. p. 374.
 
 52 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 Edward, Duke of York, who was slain at Agin- 
 court in 141 5. By a will dated at Carisbrooke 
 Castle in 1430, she directed that she should be 
 buried in the conventual church of Westminster, 
 and her monument is still to be seen there in the 
 Chapel of St. Nicholas. ^ She died in 1 43 1 , without 
 issue. ' 
 Maud, the youngest. She married Sir John le Strange 
 of Knockin, who died in i 397. She predeceased her 
 mother, leaving a son and heir Richard, who was 
 sometimes styled ' Lord of Knockin and Mohun. ' ^ 
 According to the peerages, the barony of Mohun 
 descended through the Stranges and the Stanleys 
 to Ferdinand, Earl of Derby, who died in 1594. 
 As the only grandchild of the last of the Mohuns of 
 Dunster, Sir Richard le Strange succeeded eventu- 
 ally to the manors of Whichford, Long Compton, 
 Bradworthy, Greywell and Cutcombe, and perhaps 
 to some other relics of their ancient inheritance. 
 
 It was not until more than a year after the death 
 of Sir John de Mohun that his relict completed 
 her bargain with Lady Luttrell. On the 1 8th of 
 November 1376, a fine was levied whereby the three 
 trustees settled the castle of Dunster, the manors of 
 Kilton, Minehead and Carhampton, and the hundred 
 of Carhampton on Joan de Mohun for her life, with 
 remainder to Elizabeth Luttrell and her heirs. * 
 Two days later, a formal receipt for the purchase 
 money was made out, which may be given in the 
 original language : — 
 
 ' Nicholas' Royal Wills, p. 224. no. 45. 
 There are engravings of the monument ^ Feet of Fines, London & Middlesex 
 
 in Cough's Sepulchral Monuments, 22 Hen. VI. 
 
 vol. ii, and Stothard's Monumental ^ Feet of Fines, Somerset, 50 Edw. 
 
 Effigies, p. 88. III. (Green. 89.) 
 
 * Inq. post mortem, 10 Hen. VI.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 53 
 
 " Sachent touz gentz que cestes lettres verrount ou orrount 
 moy Johane que fu la femme Johan de Mohun de DonsterrCy 
 chivaler, avoir receuz de Elizabeth que fu la femme Andrew 
 Lutrelly chivaler^ cynkz milk marcz de bonne monoie en plein 
 paiement pour le chastellde Donsterre etles manoirs de Mynheved^ 
 Culveton et Karampton^ ove le hundred de Karampton ove toutes 
 lour appurtenanlz. De queux cynkz milk marcz je me tiegne 
 bien et loialment estre paiez et la dite Elizabeth quitesparycestes. 
 En tesmoignance de quele chose a ycestes jay mys mon seal. 
 Donne a Londres le vintisme Jour de Novembre Ian du regne le 
 Roy Edward tierz puis le conquest cynquantisme. " ^ 
 
 It would be interesting to know how Lady Luttrell 
 contrived to raise so large a sum, and how she paid 
 it over, although it is not necessary to believe that 
 the whole of it was in coin of the realm. So too it 
 would be interesting to know how Lady de Mohun 
 disposed of it. A guess may, however, be hazarded 
 that her husband had left considerable debts. It may 
 be noted by the way that on the only occasion since 
 the Norman Conquest on which Dunster Castle has 
 passed by sale, it was sold by one widow and bought 
 by another. In one respect. Lady de Mohun certain- 
 ly got the best of the bargain, for she lived nearly 
 thirty years after the receipt of the money paid for 
 rights in reversion. 
 
 From 1376 to 1404, Dunster Castle seems to 
 have been practically shut up. None but the most 
 necessary repairs were made. When Lady de Mohun 
 came down to visit her property in 1398, she took 
 up her abode at Minehead, to which place the reeve 
 of Dunster sent beef, mutton, and a vast quantity of 
 beer. ^ For her a gloomy fortress in the west of 
 England can have had no attraction. She greatly prefer- 
 
 1 D.C.M. I. 32. According to Sir Roll, no. 581. m. uo-*. 
 Hugh Luttrell the purchase money * D.C.M. ix. 4. 
 
 was fixed at 5500 marks. De Banco
 
 54 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 red the gay atmosphere of the Court, and, as a change, 
 the ecclesiastical surroundings of Canterbury. Thus 
 we hear of her staying at London, Easthampstead, 
 and Sheen. Her agents in Somerset remitted money 
 to her from time to time, and occasionally provisions, 
 such as porpoises, wine and chestnuts. ^ 
 
 When at Court, Lady de Mohun often exercised 
 her influence in favour of condemned criminals. * 
 All the while, however, she was mindful of her own 
 interests. Not content with rents of all her late 
 husband's estates, and the large sum that she had 
 received from Lady Luttrell, she managed to extract 
 valuable concessions from her royal patrons. In 
 1384, Richard the Second, in consideration of her 
 good service to him and the Queen, granted to her 
 an annuity of 1 00/. for life out of the issues of the 
 stannary of Devon and Cornwall. ^ This she after- 
 wards exchanged for the manor and hundred of 
 Macclesfield, which were of somewhat greater value. * 
 It is worthy of remark that in some of the letters 
 patent she is styled the King's ' cousin, ' although 
 she was not really related to him in blood. Queen 
 Anne gave her a lease of the important castle and 
 manor of Leeds, in Kent, with its mill, fishery and 
 park. Inasmuch, however, as the Queen failed to 
 do the promised repairs. Lady de Mohun applied to 
 the King to be excused from the payment of rent for 
 the rest of her life. ^ 
 
 Lady de Mohun had no desire to be buried beside 
 her husband in the obscure priory of Bruton, and, 
 
 > D.C.M. IX. 3, 4. * Ibid. i^Ss-ijSg, pp. 35, 48, 163, 
 
 * CakiidarofPalfntRolh,i38i-i3Ss, 188, 372 ; Thirty-fourth Report of the 
 
 pp. 306, 363 ; i^S^-i^Sg, p. 328 ; 1388- Deputy Keeper of the Records, App. ii. 
 
 1392^ P- 258. p. 349. 
 
 ^ Calendarof Patent Rolls, 1381-1385, * Ancient Petitions, 11003. 
 
 p. 457-
 
 JOAN, 
 LADY DE MOHUN. 
 
 PHILIPPA, 
 I )L- CHESS OF YORK.
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 55 
 
 some years before her death, she erected for herself 
 an elaborate monument near the altar of St. Mary in 
 the crypt, or undercroft, of the cathedral church 
 of Canterbury. There her effigy is still to be seen. 
 The head rests upon two tasselled cushions supported 
 by angels. The crown is encircled with a richly 
 jewelled garland, and a jewelled frontlet stretches 
 across the top of the forehead. A great mass of hair 
 enclosed in a fret, or jewelled net, descends on both 
 sides of the face to the level of the chin. As Lady 
 de Mohun had long since cast off all signs of 
 widowhood, she does not wear a barbe and her neck 
 is quite bare. A row of ten very large buttons 
 adorns the close-fitting tunic of brocade known as a 
 cote hardie^ without sleeves and cut away for a con- 
 siderable space beneath the armholes, thus revealing 
 part of a jewelled girdle. Beneath is a kirtle reaching 
 down to the feet, and there are remains of an outer 
 mantle hanging from the shoulders. The lion at 
 her feet is mutilated, and her hands have been 
 broken off since 1726. The dateless inscription, 
 repeated on either side, shows the pride which, even 
 as an aged widow, she took in her maiden name : — 
 
 (por ^\t\x |)rte^ yor fdrtne 3o?ane be (gorwaBC^e 
 fte feut bame be (Uto^um 
 
 The effigy lies under a groined canopy supported by 
 six lofty buttresses connected by cusped and crocketed 
 arches. ^ There are no armorial bearings on the monu- 
 ment itself, but the shields of the families of Mohun, 
 Burghersh, Montacute, Strange and Despencer are to 
 be seen in the cloisters of the great church above. ^ 
 
 * Dart's History of Canterbury Calhe- vol. xiii. pp. 533-535- 
 tiral, p. 87 ; Stothard's Monumental * Willement's Heraldic Notices of 
 
 Effigies, p. 67 ; Archaeologia Cauiiana. Canterbury Cathedral, p. 133.
 
 56 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 In 1395, Lady de Mohun entered into a formal 
 agreement with the Prior and Convent of Christ 
 Church, Canterbury, that her body should be buried 
 in the tomb which she had prepared, and never 
 removed therefrom. One of the monks was to say 
 mass daily for nine specified persons at the altar of 
 St. Mary, or, on certain great festivals, at the altar of 
 St. John Baptist near the famous tomb of St. Thomas. 
 For this service he was to receive 2/. a year, and the 
 clerk in charge of the chapel was to receive 5J. a 
 year for keeping the tomb clean and in good con- 
 dition. On the eve of the anniversary of her death, 
 placebo and dirige were to be sung. On the anni- 
 versary, a solemn mass of requiem was to be said, the 
 celebrant receiving 6^". 8^. and the other two clergy 
 3^. 4^/. apiece. A hundred poor people were also to 
 receive id. apiece. In consideration of the benefits 
 promised. Lady de Mohun gave to the monks 
 350 marks, a set of three vestments of green "sendal " 
 and two choir-copes of cloth of gold valued at 20/., 
 a missal worth 5/. and a chalice worth 2/. besides a 
 bed worth 20/. of white and red " camaka, " with 
 four cushions of the same, a covering lined with 
 blue silk and curtains of " sendal *' of Genoa and 
 Tripoli. ^ 
 
 Of the nine persons for whom masses were to be 
 said, four were living in 1395 : — Richard, King of 
 England, Lady Joan de Mohun, the foundress of the 
 Chantry, ' Elizabeth ' presumably the Countess of 
 Salisbury, her daughter, and Elizabeth le Despencer, 
 her niece. The other five persons already deceased 
 were — ' John ' doubtless her husband, ' Edward ' per- 
 haps the late King, another ' Edward ' either the Black 
 
 ' Legg and St. John Hope's Inventories ofCliristchurch, Canterbury, p. 99
 
 CH. I. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 57 
 
 Prince or the husband of her niece, and Philippa 
 and Anne, Queens of England. The omission from 
 the list of her deceased daughter Maud, her living 
 daughter Philippa, and her living grandson Richard 
 le Strange, is significant. ^ 
 
 When Lady de Mohun felt her end approaching, 
 she sent for the Prior of Christ Church and delivered 
 to him a closed box, to be entrusted to the two 
 monks who acted as guardians of the shrine (feretri) 
 of St. Thomas. The box contained the royal letters 
 patent of 1369, and various important documents 
 connected with the sale of Dunster, Minehead, Kilton 
 and Carhampton. Conscious that there was likely to 
 be trouble about her action in this matter, she bound 
 the Prior to deliver the box to her heirs or to Sir 
 Hugh Luttrell if either they or he got possession of 
 the property without opposition, or to the successful 
 party if there should be a suit at law. ^ 
 
 On the same day, Lady de Mohun made her will, 
 at a house in the precincts of Canterbury known as 
 Master Omer's. ^ To the Archbishop of Canterbury, 
 whom she nominated an executor, she bequeathed a 
 psalter covered with white, and to her son-in-law the 
 Duke of York a fair copy of the Legenda Sanctorum 
 and another illuminated book. To his wife she left 
 her blessing, suggestive of a previous estrangement, 
 and her best ruby. Her other daughter the Countess 
 of Salisbury, was to have her favourite cross and a 
 second copy of the Legenda Sanctorum^ and Lady le 
 Despencer the elder was to have a bed of green silk. 
 The only other relation mentioned was William 
 Burghersh. To the Prior of Christ Church she 
 bequeated some old hangings embroidered with lions 
 
 • Arundel MS. Lxviii. ft". 59, 60. 120. 
 
 * De Banco Roll, no. 581, mm. 119, * Aichceologia Cantiaiia, vii. p. 96.
 
 58 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. i. 
 
 and some " ystayned " hangings. One of her mantles 
 was to be reserved for the wife of Sir Thomas 
 Hawkwood. Friar John, her own confessor, was to 
 receive i o marks, and another Franciscan friar named 
 Henry, 40s. There were further legacies to her six 
 maidservants, to Philip Caxton her clerk, to John 
 Sumpterman and John Gardener and other men who 
 were presumably in her service. Provision was also 
 made for the maintenance of three young scholars 
 then at Canterbury. Every poor person coming to 
 her funeral was to receive \d. and on that occasion 
 twelve poor men clothed in black at her expense 
 were to hold torches, in addition to the four great 
 candles weighing 20 lb. that were to burn during 
 the ceremony. AH goods not otherwise disposed of 
 were bequeathed to the church of Canterbury. ^ 
 
 Two days after making the will to the foregoing 
 effect. Lady de Mohun died, on the 4th of Octo- 
 ber 1404. ^ 
 
 ' Somerset Medieval Wills, vol. ii. f. 2i8. 
 
 pp. 302, 303, from Arundel's Register, ' Inq. post mortem, 6 Hen. IV. ;i2- 
 
 Old tile in Dunster Church 
 with the arms of mohun.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 The early Luttrells 
 I191 — 1403. 
 
 Luttrell, originally spelt Luterel, or Loterel, was 
 probably a diminutive of Loutre^ the French word 
 for an otter. Applied in the first instance as a per- 
 sonal nickname, it became a hereditary surname. The 
 fact that a certain Osbert Lotrel had the farm of 
 Arques in Normandy in 1 180 and 1 198 rather tends 
 to confirm the idea that the family was of foreign 
 origin. ^ 
 
 His contemporary, Geoffrey Luttrell, acquired a 
 small property at Gamston and Bridgeford in Notting- 
 hamshire in the later part of the twelfth century. 
 During the absence of Richard the First in Palestine, 
 this Geoffrey Luttrell took part in the unsuccessful 
 rebellion of John, Count of Mortain, and was conse- 
 quently deprived of his lands. ^ He was, however, re- 
 instated after the accession of the Count to the throne 
 of England, ^ and from 1 204 to i 2 1 5 he seems to have 
 been continuously employed in public business in one 
 capacity or another. Many royal charters of the period 
 
 ' Rotuli Scaccarii Nonnannice (ed. The name of Luttrell does not occur 
 
 Stapleton), vol. i. p. 65; vol. ii. p. 422. in Domesday Book, It is almost need- 
 
 A certain John Loutrel of Dieppe is less to remark that the Roll of Battle 
 
 mentioned as a subject of the French Abbey, in which it is to be found, has 
 
 King in 1419. Three years later, Robert no historical authority. 
 
 Loterel was presented to a church near - Pipe Rolls 6 and 7 Ric. I. Notts. 
 
 Bayeux. Norman Rolls, 6 Hen.V. part ' Roinli Chaitarum, p. 91. 
 2, mm. 40, I ; 9 Hen. V. m. 5.
 
 6o A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ii. 
 
 were witnessed by him as a person in frequent per- 
 sonal attendance upon the King/ For a time, he had 
 authority to issue writs in the King's name with re- 
 gard to wine. ^ He afterwards became paymaster of 
 the King's ships. ' In 1 204 and again in i 2 1 5, he was 
 in Ireland with large administrative powers.* In 
 1 206, he was in Poitou and Gascony as one of the 
 King's treasurers. ^ 
 
 In I 2 15, John appointed Sir Geoffrey Luttrell to 
 be his sole agent in negotiations with regard to the 
 dower of Queen Berengaria, commissioning him at the 
 same time to join with the Archbishops of Bordeaux 
 and Dublin in denouncing to the Pope the rebellious 
 barons who had recently extorted the Great Charter of 
 English Liberties. In one of the documents connected 
 with this business, he is styled ' nobilis vir' ^ His 
 mission was so far successful that Innocent the Third 
 annulled the Charter, suspended the Archbishop of Can- 
 terbury, and excommunicated the barons, but it is un- 
 certain whether Sir Geoffrey Luttrell was one of those 
 who conveyed the papal bull from Rome to England. 
 The exact date of his death, which must have taken 
 place in 1 2 1 6, or at the latest in 1 2 1 7, is not recorded. 
 
 As a reward for personal services, Sir Geoffrey 
 Luttrell received from King John grants for life of the 
 houses of the Jew, Isaac of York, at Oxford and North- 
 ampton, and those of another Jew named Bonnechose 
 at the former place. ^ The King also granted to him 
 
 ' Rotuli Chiirtarnm passim. * Rotnli Lift. Patentinm, vol. i. pp. 
 
 - Rotuli Litt. Claiisariim, vol. i. pp. 59, 66 ; Rotuli Litt. Clansarum, vol. i. 
 
 57, 100, 104-108, 110. pp. 61, 63. 
 
 ^ Rotuli de Liberate, &c. pp. 176, * Rotuli Chartarum, p. 219 ; Rotuli 
 
 I79i 1^5. 188, 194, 202, 206, 208, 213, Litt. Patentium, vol. i. pp. 181, 182. 
 
 227-229. ' Rotuli Litt. Clausarum, vol. i. pp. 
 
 * Rotuli Chartarum, p. 133 ; Rotuli 227, 366, 386, 399, 407 ; Close Rolls, 
 
 Litt. Patentium, vol. i. pp. 39, 4r, 48, 122^-1231, pp. 276, 282 ; Calendar of 
 
 153) 154 ; Rotuli Litt. Clausarum, vol. Charter Rolls, vol. i. p. 109. 
 i. pp. 14, 137, 146, 188, 191, 224, 303.
 
 CH. II. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 6i 
 
 some land at Croxton, in Leicestershire. ^ In consider- 
 ation, moreover, of twenty ounces of gold, he ob- 
 tained property at Cratelach in Thomond.' 
 
 The real foundation of the subsequent prosperity of 
 the Luttrell family was laid by the marriage of Sir 
 Geoffrey to a daughter and coheiress of William 
 Paynell, whose singular Christian name Frethesant is 
 apparently a continental form of the English name 
 Frideswyde. Although this lady's father was only a 
 younger scion of the great family of Paynell, she and 
 her sister, Isabel Bastard, inherited from him no less 
 than fifteen knights' fees, for the most part situated 
 in Yorkshire. ' 
 
 In 1 2 1 7, Henry of Newmarch paid 40 marks to 
 the King for licence to marry Frethesant the relict of 
 Sir Geoffrey Luttrell if she would consent, and the 
 marriage duly took place. * 
 
 Andrew Luttrell, son and heir of Sir Geoffrey, 
 being under age at the time of his father's death, was 
 for some months a ward of the Crown. By arrange- 
 ment, however, with Ralph de Rodes, the overlord of 
 his lands in Nottinghamshire, the King, in 121 8, 
 committed the custody of his person and his property 
 to PhiHp Mark, a man of some importance in the 
 midland counties, who had been one of the councillors 
 of King John. It was distinctly stipulated at the time 
 that he should marry a daughter of his guardian. "" By 
 the successive deaths of his mother's niece, the only 
 
 1 Rofuli Litt. Clausarum, vol. i. pp. John, York. 
 
 14, 61 ; Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. vii. ■• Excerpta e Rotulis Finiurn, vol. i. 
 
 p. 877. p. 9 ; Testa dc Nevill, p. 375, where 
 
 ''' Rotitli Litt. Pateiitium, vol. i. p. she is erroneously described as the 
 
 151 ; Rottili dc Oblatis, &c. p. 556. relict of William Paynell. 
 
 * Pedes Fiiiium Ebor. (Surtees So- ^ Roiuli Litt. Clausarum, vol. i. pp. 
 
 ciety) pp. 87, 88 ; Rotuli dc Oblatis, &c. 353, 356, 393, 522 ; Excerpta e Rotulis 
 
 p. 205 ; Red Book of the Exchequer, Finiurn, vol. i. p. 83. 
 PP- 77, 430, 490, 569 ; Pipe Roll, 13
 
 62 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ii. 
 
 child of Isabel Bastard, and his own mother Frethesant, 
 Andrew Luttrell became heir to the whole barony of 
 his grandfather, WiUiam Paynell. On attaining his 
 majority, in 1 229, and doing the necessary homage, he 
 obtained possession of his hereditary estates in York- 
 shire, Northamptonshire, and Leicestershire. ^ In the 
 following year, he laid claim to a considerable part of 
 the landed property of his third cousin, Maurice of 
 Gaunt, the heir of the elder branch of the Paynell 
 family. 
 
 It has been remarked already that Dunster Castle 
 has belonged to only two families, the Mohuns and 
 the Luttrells, since the Norman Conquest. ^ The 
 history of the manor of East Quantockshead, nine 
 miles to the east of Dunster, affords a yet more 
 remarkable instance of the continuity of land tenure 
 in England, its present owner, Mr. G. F. Luttrell, 
 being, through only two females, the lineal descendant 
 of Ralph Paynell, who held it in the reign of William 
 the Conqueror. There is no occasion to attempt in 
 this place to trace the very complicated genealogy of 
 the great house of Paynell, whose name still survives 
 at Hooton Pagnell, Boothby Pagnell and Newport 
 Pagnell. A simple table will suffice to show the rela- 
 tionship between Maurice of Gaunt and Andrew 
 Luttrell. 
 
 Maurice of Gaunt died in the expedition which 
 Henry the Third led into Brittany in the summer of 
 1230. ^ Andrew Luttrell thereupon went to the 
 King in Poitou and put forward a claim to the manors 
 
 ' Close Rolls, 1227-1231, p. 275. p. 201. For a very learned, though 
 
 - That is, without reckoning the confused, account of the Paynells and 
 
 temporary intrusion of the Herberts, their successors, see the York volume 
 
 during the reigns of Edward IV, Ed- of Proceedings of the Archctological 
 
 ward V, and Richard ni. Institute. See also Bracton's Notc- 
 
 ' E.vcerpta e Rotnlis Finiitm. vol. i. book, vol. ii. p. 86.
 
 CH. II. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 63 
 
 PEDIGREE OF PAYNELL 
 
 OF HOOTON, IRNHAM, AND EAST QUANTOCKSHEAD. 
 
 Ralph Paynell,yMaud, dau. and co-heir of 
 fl. 1086, 1 100. I Richard de Surdeval 
 
 William = Avice de Rumilly, dau. of Jordan Paynell= Gertrude, 
 
 Paynell, 
 fl. 1131. 
 
 William le Meschine, fl. 1131. dau, of 
 
 Earl of Cambridge, relict Robert 
 
 of William de Courcy. Fossard. 
 
 . Ellis Paynell, 
 
 Prior of Holy Trinity, 
 
 Richard = Alice =Robert of York fl. 114-2. 
 
 de Courcy, dead in 
 fl. 1138. 1182 
 
 Gaunt, d. 
 1192. 
 
 Alexander = Agnes, dau. of 
 Paynell. | Robert Fossard, 
 
 Robert son of = Avice, 
 
 Robert son 
 
 of Harding, 
 d. 1195. 
 
 married | 
 
 inii82. William Paynell, = dau. of Agnes 
 
 d. circa 1203. I de Muntchenesy 
 
 Geoffrey Luttrell,=|= Frethesant= Henry of William =Isabel. 
 fl. 1191, 1216. I fl. 1217. Newmarch, Bastard. 
 I fl. 121 7. 
 
 Andrew \ \ 
 
 Luttrell, Jordan Paynell. = Agnes = Robert de Buscy. 
 
 d. 1265. I 
 
 I 
 
 Adam Paynell. Richard Paynell. 
 
 Maud, dau. = Maurice of = Margaret, relict Henry of Gaunt, Master 
 of Henry Gaunt, of Ralph de of Billeswick hospital, 
 
 d'Oyly. d. 1230. Somery. fl. 1268.
 
 64 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ii. 
 
 of (East) Quantockshead, Stockland, Huish, Pawlet 
 and Weare in the county of Somerset, and Irnham 
 in the county of Lincoln, as his lawful inheritance. 
 The question of descent being obviously a difficulty, 
 he offered to pay a hundred marks for an enquiry, 
 provided that he should be absolved from payment 
 in the event of his claim being disallowed. Upon 
 these conditions, the King ordered his justices in 
 England to institute the enquiry requested. ^ So 
 uncertain, however, did the result appear that Walter 
 de Evermue obtained from the King a formal grant 
 for life of the manors of Quantockshead and Huish, 
 subject only to the possible rights of the claimant. 
 
 A few years later, the grant was revoked, these two 
 manors being assigned, in lieu of dower, to Margaret 
 de Somery, the relict of Maurice of Gaunt. ^ 
 
 Andrew Luttrell entirely failed to show any right 
 to the manors of Pawlet and Weare, and they accord- 
 ingly passed to Robert de Gurney, son of the half- 
 sister of the last owner. ^ On the other hand, in 
 April 123 I, he obtained an order for the delivery of 
 the manor of Irnham, upon giving security for the 
 payment of a hundred marks, which was the amount 
 of relief due on succession to a great barony. * He 
 had to wait thirteen months longer for an admission 
 of his right to the manors of Stockland, Quantocks- 
 head and Huish. ^ Some years later, a certain Mau- 
 rice of Leigh and Agnes his wife, who seems to have 
 been related to the Gaunts, set up a claim to a great 
 part of the Paynell inheritance, and Andrew Luttrell 
 had to cede to them Huish and East Bagborough, 
 
 ' Close Rolls, 1227-1231, p. 437. Finitim, vol. i., pp. 205, 207. 
 
 * Ibid. p. 499. ■• Ibid. p. 212. 
 
 * Ibid. p. 505 ; Exccrpta e Rotulis * Close Rolls, 1231-1234, p. 59.
 
 CH. II. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 65 
 
 retaining only the overlordship with certain services 
 and reversionary rights. ^ Altogether, his barony 
 comprised fifteen knights' fees of his grandfather 
 William Paynell of Hooton, and twelve and a half fees 
 of his cousin Maurice of Gaunt. ^ 
 
 In 1 242, Andrew Luttrell was summoned to per- 
 form military service against the Scots. ^ He was 
 appointed Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1251, but in the 
 following year he paid three marks of gold for exemp- 
 tion during the remainder of his life from serving as 
 justice, sheriff, bailiff, or juror. * He also obtained 
 from the King a grant of free warren on his paternal 
 estates at Gamston and Bridgeford in Nottingham- 
 shire, and a grant, or rather confirmation, of a weekly 
 market and a yearly fair at Irnham, which was prob- 
 ably his ordinary residence. ^ Hooton he made over 
 to his eldest son Geoffrey, and East Quantockshead 
 to his second son Alexander, presumably on the oc- 
 casions of their respective marriages. ^ At different 
 times in the course of his life, he granted or con- 
 firmed lands and rights to the Abbey of Drax, founded 
 by William Paynell, to the Priory of Nostell, to the 
 Abbey of Roche, and to the Hospital of St. Mark at 
 Billeswick near Bristol, founded by Maurice of Gaunt. ^ 
 Sir Andrew Luttrell died in 1265,^ leaving a widow 
 Pernel, who was living in 1267, ^ three sons and a 
 daughter ; — 
 Geoffrey, ancestor of the Luttrells of Irnham. 
 
 • Feet of Fines, Divers Counties, pp. 295, 392. 
 
 24 Henry n I, (Green, vol. i. p. 368.) ; ® Roles Gascons, Vol. i. p. 498. See 
 
 Somersetshire Picas (S. R. S.), p. 173. below. 
 
 ' Pipe Roll 39 Hen. HI. Yorkshire. ' Burton's Monasticon Eboracense ; 
 
 ' Roles Gascons (ed. Michel), vol. i. Calendar of Charter Rolls, vol. i. pp. 
 
 p. 26. 147, 170; vol. iii. p. 172. 
 
 * List of Sheriffs, p. 78; Calendar ^ Calendar of Inquisitions, \o\. '\. pp. 
 of Patent Rolls, 1247-1258, p. 133. 192, 195. 
 
 ■'' Calendar of Charter Rolls, vol. i. » Giffard's Register.
 
 66 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ii. 
 
 Alexander, ancestor of the Luttrells of East Quan- 
 tockshead, Chilton, and Dunster. 
 
 Robert, a clerk and a graduate. He was, in 1262, 
 presented by his father to the rectory of Irnham/ 
 He founded three chantries, at Irnham, Stamford 
 and Sempringham respectively, about the year 
 1303. ^ He died in 131 5, being at that time a 
 Canon of Salisbury. ^ 
 
 Annora the wife of Sir Hugh Boby. ^ 
 
 Alexander Luttrell, the second son, received 
 from his father Andrew, a grant of the manor of 
 East Quantockshead and the advowson of the church 
 there, to be held by him and the heirs of his body 
 for ever at a yearly rent of a pair of gilt spurs or 
 6c/. at Whitsuntide. ^ After the death of Sir Andrew 
 Luttrell, this grant was confirmed by his son and heir 
 Geoffrey, ^ and, after the death of Margery the relict 
 of Maurice of Gaunt, her son. Sir Roger de Somery, 
 in 1269, released all his possible rights in East Quan- 
 tockshead and conveyed it to Alexander Luttrell in 
 fee. ^ At one period of his life, Alexander Luttrell 
 held some land at Hickling in Nottinghamshire. * 
 
 In 1266, Alexander Luttrell obtained from the 
 King the custody of his elder brother, Sir Geoffrey, 
 who had lost the use of his reason. ^ In 1 270, he 
 embarked for the Holy Land in the retinue of the 
 King's eldest son, Edward, leaving the management 
 of his affairs at home in the hands of a neighbour, 
 
 ' Grosseteste's Register ; Heralds' 6i, f. 74 ; Picture of Our Lady, f. 97. 
 
 College MS. Picture of Our Lady, * D.C.M. xxii. i. 
 
 f. 97. « Ibid. 
 
 * Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. vii, ^ Ibid.; Somerset Fines (ed. Green), 
 p. 948. vol. i. p. 226. 
 
 ' Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1313- ® Heralds' College MS. Vincent 7, 
 
 /5J7, p. 280 ; Calendar of Close Rolls, ff. 53, 88. 
 
 131S-132J. p. 102. ^ Patent Rolls 50 Hen. III. m. 15 ; 
 
 * Heralds' College MS. Vincent 52 Hen. HI. m. 3.
 
 CH. II. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER, 67 
 
 Sir Warin de Raleigh, whom he appointed his at- 
 torney for four years. ^ It is very doubtful whether 
 he returned from the Crusade. The fact of his death 
 was known in Somerset at the beginning of April 
 1273, when the king's escheator took possession of 
 his lands. ^ Sir Alexander left issue two sons under age 
 and a daughter : — 
 
 Andrew, his heir. 
 
 John, who occurs in 1305 in connexion with a wife 
 
 named Rose. ^ 
 Annora, under age in 1 279, who seems to have married 
 
 her neighbour Ralph Fitzurse of Williton. ^ 
 
 Sir Alexander Luttrell's wife was Margery daugh- 
 ter and coheiress of Thomas son of William, from 
 whom she received some land at Royton, Thorp, and 
 Healey in Lancashire, which she and her husband 
 sold to Sir John Byron. ^ In July 1273, she received 
 by way of dower a stone-roofed house opposite to 
 the hall of her late husband's manor of East Quan- 
 tockshead, another small house similarly roofed, two 
 cow-houses, a chamber over the gate, an old garden 
 adjoining the houses, two ponds, a third of the dove- 
 cot, and various lands, services and rents, carefully 
 specified in the King's writ, and representing in all a 
 third of the estate. ** The heir being a minor, she 
 also obtained a lease of the other two thirds for a 
 year and half. ^ 
 
 Before long, however, she got into trouble by mar- 
 rying Sir Giles of Fishbourne, a knight who served 
 
 ' Rymer's Fcedera, vol. i. p. 484; m.9; D.C.M. xxxii. 100 ; xxxiii. i. 
 
 Close Roll 54 Hen. III. m.6(/. * Close Roll 54 Hen. HI. m. 5^^; 
 
 ^ RoUili Hundredonim, vol. n. p. 12S; Lancashire Fines (ed. Farrer), vol. i. 
 
 Fine Rolls, i Edw. I. m. 21. p. 133 ; Calendar of Close Rolls, 1272- 
 
 ^ Heralds' College MS. Picture of 12^9, p. 246. 
 
 Our Lady, f. 7yd ; Vincent 92. ^ Calendar of Close Rolls, 1 2^2-1 27^, 
 
 * Assize Rolls, no. 1224, m. 12 ; no. p. 24. 
 
 1242, m. 2d ; no. 758, m. 21 ; no. 1345, ' Rotuli Hundredorum, vol. ii. p. 125.
 
 68 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ii. 
 
 in the Welsh wars of Edward the First. A widow 
 whose husband held land directly under the Crown 
 was not, in those days, a free agent. She could not 
 re-marry without royal licence, granted sometimes as 
 a favour to one of the parties, sometimes in consider- 
 ation of a pecuniary fine. Margery Luttrell and Sir 
 Giles of Fishbourne cannot have been ignorant of the 
 law on this subject, but they may reasonably have 
 supposed that she was at liberty to marry whomsoever 
 she chose, inasmuch as her late husband's lands were 
 held under the feudal lord of Irnham. Sir Geoffrey 
 Luttrell, the lunatic, had, however, died in the early 
 part of 1 270, leaving as his heir a son under age, who 
 became a ward of the King.^ All wardships pertain- 
 ing to this heir, such as that of the son of Sir Alexander 
 Luttrell, had passed without question to the King, and 
 the agents of the Crown alleged that Sir Alexander 
 had held direct of the King during the minority of 
 the intermediate lord. On this ground they contended 
 that Margery was one of the King's widows, and Sir 
 Ralph of Sandwich seized East Quantockshead, in the 
 name of his royal master, on account of her offence. 
 The course of the subsequent proceedings is not very 
 clear. Sir Giles and Margery were certainly married 
 as early as 1276 ; an undated petition for redress was 
 apparently referred to the Parliament of 1278, but it 
 was not until 1280 that Sir Giles of Fishbourne receiv- 
 ed formal pardon of his marriage. ^ 
 
 Andrew Luttrell, the eldest son of Sir Alexander, 
 was, as we have seen, a minor at the time of his father's 
 death. The custody of the manor of East Quantocks- 
 
 • Patent Roll 54 Hen. HI. m. 8. p. 363 ; Calauiar of Patent Rolls, 12J2- 
 
 * Rotuli Parliamentorum, vol. i. p. 1281, p. 384. 
 5; Calendar of Close Rolls I2y2-i2yg,
 
 CH. II. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 69 
 
 head, or rather of his two thirds of it, was, in the 
 autumn of 1 274, committed to Robert Tibetot by the 
 King, as guardian of his overlord, the son of Sir 
 Geoffrey Luttrell. ^ Andrew Luttrell was, in 1301, 
 summoned to perform miUtary service against the 
 Scots, being reckoned as belonging to Devonshire, 
 where he held land at Whitwell. ^ He was knighted 
 in due course, and he was living in 1310.^ While 
 still in his teens, and during the lifetime of his father, 
 he had, in 1 270, married Elizabeth daughter of Sir 
 Warin de Raleigh. * He appears to have left three 
 sons : — 
 
 Alexander, his heir. 
 
 John, ancestor of the Luttrells of Dunster. 
 
 Andrew, a clerk. When instituted to the rectory of 
 East Quantockshead at a very early age, in April 
 1 329, on the nomination of Sir Alexander Luttrell, 
 he took an oath to study diligently at an English 
 University. Formal leave of absence for this purpose 
 was granted to him a few months later. His dio- 
 cesan allowed him to be ordained acolyte in Decem- 
 ber of that year and subdeacon in the following 
 February, by some other bishop, and his leave of 
 absence was renewed in December 1330. In March 
 1337, he received permission to stay in the service 
 of his brother John. A priest was appointed to 
 succeed him at East Quantockshead in 1341. ^ 
 
 Alexander Luttrell, the eldest son of Sir Andrew, 
 was born about 1285. *^ He seems to have succeeded 
 his father in or before i 326, when he received respite 
 
 » Calendar of Close Rolls, 1 272-1 279, * D.C.M. xxii. i; Assize Roll no. 
 
 p. 103 ; Assize Roll no. 1224, m. 106. 1224, mm. 106, 14. 
 
 » Palgrave's Parliamentary Writs, ^ Drokcnsford's Register (S.R.S.), p. 
 
 vol. i. p. 351 ; Feudal Aids vol. i. 300 ; /?a//'//'s iet^zs/er (S.R.S.), pp.6, 20, 
 
 p. 329. 31.64,313,330,433- 
 
 s D.C.M. XXII. I ; XXXVII. i. 6Inq.postmortem,C.Edw.in,filei9(3).
 
 70 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ii. 
 
 from taking knighthood. ^ He was knighted by 
 Edward the Third at the coronation in the early part 
 of February 1327. ^ In the same year, a friar minor 
 of Bridgewater was Ucensed by the bishop of the 
 diocese to act as confessor to Sir Alexander Luttrell 
 and his household. ^ In 1342, Sir Alexander Luttrell 
 was one of the collectors of the King's wool in the 
 county of Somerset. * The manor of East Quantocks- 
 head was, in 1329, settled on him and Mary his 
 wife. ^ On the authority of some manuscript at 
 Brymore, Thomas Palmer, followed as usual by 
 CoUinson and by Savage, states that this lady was 
 a daughter of Sir Thomas Trivet the judge. * Inas- 
 much, however, as Sir Thomas Trivet died in 1283, 
 this does not appear probable. ^ On the other hand, 
 it is almost certain that she was nearly related to the 
 Mandevilles. In 1322, the manor of Hardington 
 was settled on Robert de Mandeville, the last male 
 of the family, for his life, with remainder to Alexander 
 Luttrell and Mary his wife in tail, and ultimate re- 
 mainder to the heirs of Robert de Mandeville. ^ Fur- 
 thermore, Thomas Luttrell, son of Alexander and 
 Mary, was, in 1349, found to be cousin and heir of 
 Peter of Falconbridge, who is known to have been the 
 nephew of Robert de Mandeville. * 
 
 There is at Dunster an agreement by which the 
 Master and brethren of St Mark's House at Billes- 
 wick undertook, in 1340, to pay 10/. a year out of 
 
 ' Parliamentary Writs, vol. ii. part * Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1321- 
 
 I. pp. 743, 751. -^527, p. 178 ; Inq. ad quod damnum, 
 
 ' Exchequer Accounts, bundle 383, files 128, no. 14 ; 152, no. 19; 161, no. i. 
 
 no. 4. Mr. J, Batten, who did not know of the 
 
 * Drokensford's Register, p. 282. entail, suggests that Luttrell was " on- 
 
 * Calendar of Close Rolls, 1 341-1343, ly a trustee, " because he alienated the 
 pp. 507, 519, 540. manor some years later. Historical 
 
 * Feet of Fines, (S.R.S.), vol. ii. p. 138. Notes on South Somerset, p. 134. 
 
 ^ MS. at St. Audries. * Inq. post mortem, 23 Edw. III. 
 
 ' Foss's Judges of England. no. 56 ; Batten, p. 135.
 
 CH. II. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 71 
 
 their manor of Pawlet to Sir Alexander Luttrell and 
 Lucy his wife for their lives, if Sir Alexander would 
 quitclaim to them all his right in the manor of 
 Stockland Gaunt, concerning which a suit was pend- 
 ing in the King's court. The record of the suit, 
 which was argued at some length on a technical 
 point, shows that Sir Alexander Luttrell claimed that 
 his grandfather of the same name had been enfeoffed 
 by Sir Geoffrey Luttrell in the reign of Edward the 
 First. ^ In the same year, 1340, the manor of East 
 Quantockshead, with the exception of eight messuages, 
 two mills, and a hundred and forty-eight acres of 
 land, was settled on Sir Alexander Luttrell and his 
 second wife Lucy, with remainder to his heirs. ^ 
 
 In I 343, Sir Alexander Luttrell arranged a marriage 
 between his eldest son, Thomas, and Joan daughter of 
 Sir John Palton, and undertook to give them i o/. a 
 year out of the manor of East Quantockshead. He 
 also settled on them the reversion, after his own 
 death, of the messuages, mills and land which had been 
 excepted from the settlement on his second wife. 
 Sir John Palton on the other hand undertook to pay 
 him 200 marks, and to maintain the young couple 
 during the life of Sir Alexander. ' 
 
 Five years later. Sir Alexander Luttrell conveyed 
 the whole manor to Sir John Palton, and Thomas 
 Luttrell and Joan his wife in tail, for a yearly rent of 
 40 marks and of a robe worth 40J. or 40J. in money. 
 They at the same time demised to him for his life a 
 hall with certain rooms, a close called La Neweleygh- 
 ton, a stable in the outer court of the manor house, 
 the hay growing at La Reghmede, and fuel, * house- 
 
 • Placita de Banco, no. 239. m. 94 ; * D.C.M. xxii. i ; Court of Wards 
 
 Year Book, 14 Edw. Ill, pp. 208-223. and Liveries, Deeds and Evidences, 
 
 » Feet 0) Fines, (S.R.S.), vol. ii. p. 204. 11. 2.
 
 72 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ii. 
 
 bote ' and ' haybote. ' Lastly, at the end of March 1354, 
 he conveyed the manor and the advowson of East 
 Quantockshead to Sir John Palton and Thomas 
 Luttrell at the reduced rent of 20/. ^ In the follow- 
 ing month, he was killed at Watchet, together with 
 Alexander Montfort and John Strechleye. Several 
 persons were found guilty of murder, and others were 
 declared to have been present and assisting. ^ 
 
 Thomas Luttrell, son and successor of Sir 
 Alexander, was born about the year 1324. ^ During 
 the lifetime of his father, in 1 346, the manor of 
 Milton Falconbridge and other lands near Martock, 
 which descended to him through his mother, were 
 settled on him and Joan his wife in tail, with remain- 
 der to his heirs. * This property seems, however, to 
 have been alienated ere long. In 1359, Thomas 
 Luttrell acquired full possession of the manor and 
 advowson of East Quantockshead by means of a re- 
 lease from his father-in-law. Sir Thomas Palton, and 
 in the following year he caused the manor to be 
 settled on himself and his second wife Denise. ^ This 
 lady is stated to have survived him and to have mar- 
 ried secondly Thomas Popham. ^ She was apparently 
 the mother of the last Luttrell of East Quantockshead 
 in the direct line. 
 
 John Luttrell, only son of Thomas, succeeded in 
 the later part of the reign of Edward the Third. It 
 is stated that, in 1 366, Sir Andrew Luttrell of Irnham 
 granted the wardship of this John Luttrell to Sir 
 Baldwin Malet of Enmore, ^ and a reference to the 
 
 1 D.C.M. XXII. I ; Assize Roll no. * D.C.M. xxxvii. 36. 
 1448. m. 52. ■' D.C.M. xxii. I, 2. 
 
 2 Assize Roll no. 772. m. 23^. "^ Palmer MS. at St. Audries. 
 
 * Inq.postmortem,23Edw.III.no.56. ' Ibid. The reference is apparent-
 
 CH. II. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 73 
 
 pedigree of the Luttrells of Irnham shows that Sir 
 Andrew was at that date the overlord of East Quan- 
 tockshead. The manor and the advowson were, in 
 1398, settled on John Luttrell and Joan his wife, ^ 
 who is stated to have been daughter and coheiress of 
 Thomas Kingston. ^ At the coronation of Henry the 
 Fourth in 1399, John Luttrell was created one of the 
 Knights of the Bath. ^ In March 1 400, the King 
 took him into his permanent service, and gave him 
 an annuity of 40/. out of the issues of the county of 
 Somerset. * A year later, the King granted him a 
 further annuity of 1 6/. payable at the Exchequer, 
 and confirmed to him an annuity of 10/., granted by 
 John of Gaunt out of the revenues of the Duchy of 
 Lancaster. ^ Sir John Luttrell was Sheriff of Somer- 
 set and Dorset for a year beginning in the autumn of 
 1401. ^ In the summer of 1403, he took up arms 
 on the King's behalf " to resist the malice of a 
 certain Sir Henry Percehaye, knight, " that is to say 
 to oppose the rising of the Percies, the Mortimers 
 and Owen Glendower. By a will expressing this in- 
 tention and dated the 20th of May, he directed that 
 if he should die without lawful issue before returning 
 to his mansion at East Quantockshead, the manor and 
 the advowson of the church there and his lands at 
 Alfoxton and Watchet should, after payment of his 
 debts, be conveyed by his feoffees to his cousin Sir 
 Hugh Luttrell and the heirs of his body, or, failing 
 
 ly to an original MS. at Dunster, but ' D.C.M. xxii. 4. 
 Thomas Palmer, or his copyist, must * Palmer MS. Here again the 
 have made some mistake. There is no reference to a MS. at Dunster is in- 
 such deed of grant at Dunster now, correct. 
 
 and there is no mention of it in the ^ Holinshed'sCAron/dt^.vol. ii. p.511. 
 
 compilations of Prynne and Narcissus * Calendar of Patent Rolls, isgg- 
 
 Luttrell. It would probably have re- 1401, p. 238. 
 
 mained among the muniments of the * Ibid. p. 549. 
 
 Malet family. * List of Sheriffs, p. 123. 
 
 K
 
 74 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ii. 
 
 them, to the heirs and assigns of John Venables. ^ 
 According to Palmer, he made a supplementary will 
 on the 4th of June, which was proved on the 4th of 
 August in the same year. By this, it is stated, he di- 
 rected that some land at Williton was to be conveyed to 
 Thomas Popham for life, with remainder to his own 
 maternal brother, Richard Popham, and the heirs of his 
 body, and, in default of such, to be sold for the benefit 
 of his soul, the souls of his ancestors, and the soul of 
 John Fitzurse. The manor of Iwood was to be sold 
 for the payment of his debts. There was a legacy of 
 20/. to Dame Cecily Berkeley, which, if renounced, 
 was to be laid out for her soul's health. Lastly, he is 
 stated to have made provision for " four of his servant 
 maids and certain children they were mothers of. " 
 
 Elsewhere, Palmer states that in the 14th year of 
 Edward IV (1474), Anne Watts, widow, gave land at 
 Wellow and money to the Priory of Barlinch, in order 
 that divine service might be performed for the souls of 
 her brother Richard Luttrell, their mother Mary, her 
 own two husbands, Robert Bulsham and Richard 
 Watts, and her daughter by Bulsham, Agnes the 
 wife of Peter Bampfield of Hardington. ^ Richard 
 Luttrell was constable of Dunster Castle from 1430 
 to 1 449, and perhaps longer. ^ He lived in a house on 
 the site of the present Luttrell Arms Hotel. Under 
 an entail of 1449, he might have succeeded to the 
 whole Barony of Dunster, but he died without lawful 
 issue, and, as he was a bastard, his property at Kents- 
 ford near Watchet escheated to his overlord, James 
 Luttrell of Dunster. * 
 
 ' D.C.M. I. 15. The seal attached » MS. at St Audries. 
 
 to this document, although professing ' D.C.M. xviii. 3, 4. 
 
 to be that of the testator, is clearly not < Inq. post mortem, i Edw. IV. no. 
 
 his. It bears a shield charged with 43 : D.C.M. i. 23, 25. An erasure in 
 
 six cross-crosslets, a castle for crest, the letters patent is remarkable, 
 and the initials " R.C. "
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Luttrells of Chilton and Dunster 
 1337—1485- 
 
 The direct line of the Luttrells of East Quantocks- 
 head having come to an end in the person of Sir John 
 Luttrell, K.B. most of their lands passed to a younger 
 branch which already had property in Devonshire. 
 
 John Luttrell, the founder of this younger branch, 
 is distinctly stated in a brief of the time of Henry the 
 Sixth to have been brother of Sir Andrew Luttrell of 
 East Quantockshead, ' but a careful examination of 
 dates makes it almost certain that he was his son. 
 When, in March 1337, Edward the Third conferred 
 the title of Duke of Cornwall upon his eldest son 
 Edward, and created six earls, he solemnly dubbed 
 a number of knights, of whom this John Luttrell 
 was one. ^ In the very same month, Andrew Luttrell 
 the youthful rector of East Quantockshead received 
 episcopal licence to stay for a while in the service of 
 his brother John. ' In the same year, Sir John Lut- 
 trell acquired property at Chilton in the parish of 
 Thorverton in Devon. * He also had land at Lundy 
 Island. ^ He is sometimes described as ' lord of 
 
 ' D.C.M. XXXV. 24. (A.D. 1471.) p. 300. 
 
 * Cotton MS. Faustina, B. VI. f. 87. ■• Inq. ad quod damnum, file 239, 
 
 Cf. Stow's Annals, p. 233, and Chro?ii- no. 10. 
 coti Galfridi le Baker (1889), p. 58. * Calendar of Close Rolls, 1 343-1 346, 
 
 •* Drokensford's Register (S.R.S.), p. 673.
 
 76 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. hi. 
 
 Chilton,' and his manor there was known as Chilton 
 Luttrell. ^ He was a commissioner of array in i 347 
 and 1359, and he was returned to Parliament as one 
 of the knights of the shire of Devon in 1360 and 
 1363. - The date of his death is not known. His 
 relict Joan survived until 1378. ^ 
 
 Andrew Luttrell, son of Sir John and Joan, estab- 
 lished the fortunes of his family by his marriage with 
 Elizabeth, relict of Sir John de Vere, son of the Earl 
 of Oxford, a lady of the most illustrious lineage. Her 
 father, Hugh, Earl of Devon, one of the companions 
 in arms of Edward the Third, and one of the original 
 Knights of the Garter, was head of the noble house 
 of Courtenay. Her mother, Margaret, was daughter 
 of Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex, 
 Constable of England, " the flower of knighthood and 
 the most Christian knight of the knights of the world," 
 by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of King Edward the 
 First. Her eldest brother was, like her father, an 
 original Knight of the Garter ; a second brother be- 
 came Archbishop of Canterbury; a third Lieutenant of 
 Ireland, and a fourth Governor of Calais. Through 
 her sisters, she was closely connected with the Lords 
 Cobham and Harington. 
 
 Lady Elizabeth Vere was a widow in 1350. On 
 the occasion of her marriage to Andrew Luttrell, 
 in the summer of 1359, Edward the Third gave 
 them an annuity of 200/. for their lives, in aid of the 
 maintenance of their social position. * In 1 361, Sir 
 Andrew Luttrell and his wife went on pilgrimage to 
 
 ' OVi-ver's Monasticon Dioecesis Exon. i Ric. II. no. 22; 8 Ric. II. no. 26. 
 
 p. 123 ; D.C.M. II. 9. Escheators' Enrolled Accounts (L. T. 
 
 2 Return of Members of Parliament, R.) 3, m. 31 ; 5, m. 31 ; 8, m. 11; 9, 
 
 vol. i. pp. 163, 172. m. 36. 
 
 * There is some contradiction about ■• Patent Rolls, 24 Edw. Ill, part 2, 
 
 the exact date. Inq. post mortem, m, 26; 33 Edw. III. m. 25.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ^^ 
 
 the famous shrine of Santiago de Compostella, with a 
 retinue of twenty-four men and women and as many- 
 horses. ^ The lady was for some time in the service 
 of her cousins, Edward ' the Black Prince ' and the 
 ' Fair Maid of Kent, ' his wife. The annuity of 200/. 
 was confirmed by Richard the Second in 1378, and 
 renewed in favour of Lady Luttrell in 1381, her 
 husband having died in the interval. ^ In the mean- 
 while, Lady Luttrell had, with part of her savings, 
 bought the reversion of the manors of Feltwell in 
 Norfolk, and Moulton, Debenham and Waldingfield 
 in Suffolk. ^ A charter of free warren therein was 
 issued in her favour in 1373. * She also acquired the 
 right of appointing two of the canons of the priory 
 of Flitcham. ^ 
 
 The most important pecuniary transaction of this 
 Lady Luttrell was, however, her purchase of the 
 reversion of the castle of Dunster, the manors of 
 Kilton, Minehead and Carhampton and the hundred 
 of Carhampton, of five thousand marks.^ As she pre- 
 deceased the vendor, she never obtained actual posses- 
 sion of this valuable property. Dying at Bermondsey 
 on the 7th of August 1395, she was buried, by her 
 own desire, in the Benedictine Church of St. Nicholas 
 at Exeter. ^ Edmund Stafford, Bishop of Exeter, in 
 August of that year, ordered public prayers to be 
 offered throughout his diocese for the souls of Mar- 
 garet Cobham and Elizabeth Luttrell, sisters of the 
 Archbishop of Canterbury, and, by way of encourage- 
 ment, promised an indulgence of forty days to the 
 faithful who should pray for them. ^ 
 
 1 Close Roll, 35 Edw. HI. m. 22. * D.C.M. xxxvii. 38. 
 
 - Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1377- ^ Pp. 50, 52, 53. above. 
 
 13S1, p. 170 ; 13S1-13S5, p. 15. ' Inq. post mortem, 19 Ric. II. nos. 
 
 * D.C.M. XXXVII, 38-42. 47, 48 ; D.C.M. xxxvii. 42. 
 
 * Charter Roll, 47 Edw. III. * Stafford's Register, vol. i. f. 46.
 
 78 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 Hugh Luttrell, son of Sir Andrew and Elizabeth, 
 was born about 1364. By the successive deaths of 
 his grandmother Dame Joan Luttrell in 1378, and 
 of his elder brother John, soon afterwards, he became 
 heir to the small paternal estate at Chilton in Devon- 
 shire, but he did not obtain actual possession of it 
 until 1385, when he was in the King's service 
 abroad. ^ He was for a time an esquire in the house- 
 hold of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster. ^ At the 
 beginning of 1390, he is mentioned as a knight 
 having influence at Court, and, two months later, he 
 took part in some jousts at St. Inglevert near Calais. ^ 
 In consideration of his services, he received from 
 Richard the Second, in 1391, a grant of an annuity 
 of 20/. out of the confiscated English property of the 
 priory of St. Nicholas at Angers. * Four years later, 
 a further annuity of 40/. was granted to him, on his 
 undertaking to remain with Richard the Second for 
 life. ^ By the death of his mother, in 1395, he got a 
 considerable accession of property. He was also 
 given the reversion of the keepership of the forest of 
 Gillingham and the constableship of the castle of 
 Leeds in Kent. ^ In 1394 and again in 1399, he ac- 
 companied his royal master and kinsman to Ireland. ^ 
 
 The accession of the house of Lancaster proved no 
 detriment to Sir Hugh Luttrell. Henry the Fourth, 
 son of his old patron, had not been on the throne 
 many weeks before he confirmed to him his annuities 
 of 60/. and the forestership of Gillingham, and gave 
 
 • Inq. post mortem, i Ric. II. no. 22; History of England, vol. ii. p. 91). 
 
 8 Ric. II. no. 26. Escheators' En- * Calendar of Patent Rolls, 13SS- 
 
 rolled Accounts, 7, m. 52 ; 8, mm. 11, 1392, p. 465. 
 
 17 ; 9, m. 36. * Calendar of Patent Rolls, ijgi- 
 
 ^ Duchy of Lancaster, Miscellaneous 1396, p. 620. 
 
 Books, no. 14, f. 6d. ^ Ibid. p. 422. 
 
 3 Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1388- ^ Ibid. p. 476. 
 1392, p. 181 ; Pichon (quoted in Wylie's
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 79 
 
 him 5/. a year in lieu of the constableship of Leeds. 
 The letters patent to this effect were, however, sur- 
 rendered and cancelled in 1404, when the King 
 remitted to him a sum of 482/. 8/. 11^. due to the 
 Exchequer in respect of lands farmed by him in Kent. ^ 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell was at Calais in 1400, in some 
 capacity unspecified. ^ His receiver in the west of 
 England sent 22 marks to him " by the hands of John 
 Luttrell, son of Richard Lutrell, at his coming from 
 Calec, at the feast of the Nativity of St. John in the 
 fourth year," that is to say at Midsummer 1403.^ 
 On the death of his cousin, Sir John Luttrell, K.B. 
 in that year, he succeeded to the estate at East Quan- 
 tockshead. His receiver paid " to Richard, rector 
 of Cantokeshede, to pay to the executors of Sir John 
 Lutrell for divers things bought for the use of my 
 lord, 10/, 1 3 J. 4^. ", and also "to the same executors, 
 by the hands of Richard Popham, by indenture, 
 6 marks. " * Later in the same year. Sir Hugh was 
 appointed one of the ambassadors to treat with the 
 Commissioners of the King of France and afterwards 
 with the Commissioners of the Duke of Burgundy. ^ 
 Several of their official letters have been preserved, 
 and in one of them he is specifically described as 
 Lieutenant of Calais. ^ In the spring of 1 404, he was 
 appointed Mayor of Bordeaux by royal authority, 
 but his stay in Gascony cannot have been long, 
 although no successor to him was appointed until 
 March 1406.^ 
 
 ' Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1399- 14, 7- 
 
 1401, p. 142 ; Memoranda Roll, K.R. * Royal and Historical Letters (ed. 
 
 5 Hen. IV. Hingeston), pp. 170, 177, 186, 188, 194, 
 
 » Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1399- 197, 202, 204. 
 
 1401, p. 271. ^ Proceedings of the Privy Council 
 
 ^ D.C.M. I. 14. (ed. Nicolas), vol. i. p. 223 ; Gascon 
 
 4 Ibid. Rolls 3-5 Hen. IV. m. 2 ; 6 Hen. IV. 
 
 « French Roll, 4 & 5 Hen. IV. mm. m. 5.
 
 8o A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. hi. 
 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell was elected one of the knights 
 of the shire for Somerset in the Parhament which was 
 summoned to meet at Coventry on the 6th of October 
 1404, and he was paid for forty-six days' personal 
 attendance. ^ 
 
 Two days before the meeting of that Parliament, 
 Lady de Mohun died, and it is not likely that Sir 
 Hugh Luttrell lost any time in putting forward his 
 claim to the estate of which his mother had bought 
 the reversion from her some twenty-eight years pre- 
 viously. In the first instance, however, the escheator 
 intervened on behalf of the Crown, and on the 17th 
 of October, the King, anticipating complications, 
 gave a temporary lease of the Mohun property to 
 William Grene and John Lawrence, esquires, for a 
 considerable rent. These lessees remained in occu- 
 pation of Dunster until the 17th of February 1405, 
 when Sir Hugh Luttrell presumably obtained posses- 
 sion.^ He was certainly established there a few months 
 later. His household accounts for that year supply 
 various notices of his proceedings in Somerset and of 
 his going to Wales to fight against Owen Glendower. 
 
 July 3. " Paid by order of my lord for the expenses of 
 a varlet of my lady the Countess of La Marche sent with her 
 letters to my lord, as in his horse being in the town, 1 5^</. " 
 
 July 8. " Paid by order of my lord for the expenses of 
 the horses of the Earl of Pembroke riding towards the King, 
 %od. " '' 
 
 July 29. " In a pottle of wine because of the Archdeacon 
 of Taunton, \d. " 
 
 July 31. " Paid by order of my lord to William Godwyn 
 for so much borrowed of him on the day on which the beasts 
 on Exmore were brought together, 3J. \d. " 
 
 1 Close Roll, 6 Hen. IV. m. 5^. ^ There was no Earl of Pembroke in 
 
 - Placita de Banco, no. 584, mm. 339, 1405. The person so styled was probab- 
 339<^- ly Reynold, Lord Grey of Ruthyn.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 8i 
 
 August 25. " In the gift of my lord to a messenger of 
 the King bringing to him his letters by which the King 
 ordered him to hasten towards the parts of Wales, 35. 4^. 
 Also on the same day, paid by order of my lord for the 
 expenses of the horses of the Earl of Pembroke returning 
 from the King and those of other strangers, 35. ^^d. " 
 
 September 11, " In a cart twice carrying victuals from 
 the castle to the haven towards my lord who was in Wales, 
 6^. " " Also on the same day paid for six standards of my 
 lord's arms delivered to divers ships of Minhede carrying 
 victuals to my lord in the parts of Wales, 2s. " 
 
 " Also paid in the expenses of my lord and his household 
 riding towards the King who was at Leicestre and absent for 
 four whole weeks, 4/. 155. 8^. Also paid to John Cotes at 
 his lodging at Henyngham, my lord being there, as more 
 fully appears in indentures made between my lord and him, 
 4/. 13J. 4^. " 
 
 September 12. " Paid to two armourers cleaning my 
 lord's armour for fourteen days and a half, at 14^. a day, 
 both for them and for a servant who waited on them (famulo 
 eisdem servienti) for the same time, i6s. iid. 
 
 October 2. " In bread and ale bought for certain seamen 
 who were in the ship (batella) Howell sent to the parts of 
 Wales to get news of my lord who was there in the retinue 
 of the King, lid. " 
 
 October 9. "In 88 wheaten loaves bought and sent to 
 mv lord in the parts of Wales, every loaf at a halfpenny, 
 3/. %d. " 
 
 October 23. "In horse bread bought for the horses of 
 my lord who was at Dunstre, 22^. " 
 
 October 26. " Delivered to my lord going on pilgrimage 
 to the Chapel of the Holy Trinity of Bircombe, i id. " 
 
 The chapel thus mentioned may probably be identi- 
 fied with a small ruin now known as ' Burgundy 
 Chapel, ' standing a little above the sea in a secluded 
 valley on the west side of Minehead, not far from 
 Greenaleigh Farm. Sir Hugh Luttrell evidently held
 
 82 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. hi. 
 
 it in special honour, for, in several subsequent years, 
 he gave considerable sums " to a chaplain celebrating 
 in the chapel of Byrcombe " on his account. 
 
 November 13. " To two armourers cleaning my lord's 
 armour for eleven days, at 4^. a day apiece, yj. 4^. In fresh 
 lard (sepo porci) for the same, qd. " 
 
 " In the gift of my lady to Thomas Kynge riding towards 
 Saunton as her messenger, ^d. 
 
 " In the gift of my lord to John the charioteer (Charettier) 
 bringing my lady from London to Dunsterre, 20;, and fDr 
 certain expenses incurred and paid by him, as he stated, 1 5^." 
 
 December 20. " In the gift of my lord, by his order, to 
 two servants of the Prior of Dunsterre who presented to my 
 lady twelve capons, two little bacon-pigs and four bushels of 
 green peas, 1 6d. " (The mention of green peas at Christmas 
 is interesting.) 
 
 " For hose and shoes necessary to William Russel and 
 Robert the keeper of the horses, because of the approach of 
 Christmas, 20^. In paid for the fur of six gowns (togarum) 
 of my lady and her daughters, against the same feast, 45. lod. " 
 
 " Also, on the same day, in the gift of my lord to a varlet 
 of John Clifton bringing two bucks from Gillingham, 20^. 
 Also on Christmas Eve, in rushes bought to strew in the 
 hall and the chambers, 6d. Also, on Christmas Day, in the 
 offerings of the servants of the household distributed in the 
 church, by order of my lord, is. '* 
 
 December 26. " In the gift of my lord to three tenants 
 of John Cobleston who played before him 3^. 4^. In the 
 gift of the same to six tenants of Dunsterre who played 
 before him, 3J. ^d. In the gift of the same to several children 
 of Minhede who danced before him, 20^. 
 
 December 27. " In wine bought and conveyed from 
 Taunton on account of the feast held by my lord, 75. " 
 
 1406. January 5. " In the gift of my lord to two servants 
 of my lady of Pawlet who brought the carcase of an ox and 
 a boar and a live ' grue,' and presented them to my lady, 6i. 
 8^; and in the expenses of their horses that were in the town 
 for a night, 1 7^. Also on the same day in the gift of my 
 lord to a servant of William Godwyn who brought a boar
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 83 
 
 and presented it to my lady against Christmas, lod. Also 
 in the gift of my lord to the Clerks of St. Nicholas, i2d. " ^ 
 
 The clerks of St. Nicholas were probably boys 
 connected with the Priory of Dunster, of whom one 
 styled the ' boy bishop ' was, by irreverent custom, 
 allowed to perform certain religious functions in 
 church between the feast of St. Nicholas and that of 
 the Holy Innocents, in the month of December. ^ 
 
 Amid the merriment of the first Christmas that 
 Sir Hugh kept at his new home, he had cause for 
 grave anxiety, his title to Dunster, Minehead, Car- 
 hampton and Kilton being challenged by the coheirs 
 of Sir John and Lady de Mohun. Edward, Duke of 
 York and Philippa his wife, Elizabeth, Countess of 
 Salisbury, and Richard, Lord Strange of Knockin, a 
 formidable combination, had already begun legal pro- 
 ceedings with a view to recovering the estates of which 
 the reversion had been sold to Lady Luttrell. On the 
 14th of May 1405, the King had appointed nine 
 special commissioners, including the two Chief Justices 
 and the Chief Baron of the Exchequer, to take an 
 assize of novel disseisin in the matter. ^ 
 
 The household accounts of Sir Hugh Luttrell con- 
 tain several allusions to the suit : — 
 
 1405. July 10. " For expenses incurried by my lord 
 himself and strangers who came to him at Yevelchestre, 
 because his adversaries intended on that day to have arrained 
 the assize against him, 67;. iid. 
 
 1406. January 3. " Paid for four quires of paper bought, 
 IS. Paid for twelve skins of parchment on which to write 
 the evidences of my lord, at Briggewater, 25. %d. In the 
 expenses of John Bacwell about the writing of the said 
 
 ' D.C.M. XXXVII. 7. times. Hone's Ancient Mysteries, Max- 
 
 * For boy bishops see Brand's Poj)U- well Lyte's History of Eton College, etc. 
 
 lar Antiquities, Warton's History of ^ Patent Roll, 6 Hen. IV. part 2, 
 
 English Poetry, Strutt's Sports and Pas- m. 22d.
 
 84 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. hi. 
 
 evidences and other affairs of my lord, who was there for six 
 days, 12;. " 
 
 January 5. " In the expenses of my lord who came to 
 Brigewater for certain causes touching his plea, 35. id. 
 And in his gift to a lawyer, a kinsman of Richard Popham, 
 6s. U. " 
 
 In Easter term 1406, Sir Hugh Luttrell brought 
 a subsidiary suit against Thomas, Prior of Christ 
 Church, Canterbury, for the delivery of the sealed 
 chest which Lady de Mohun had deposited in his 
 charge two days before her death. He was opposed 
 by the coheirs of Mohun, but, after full argument, 
 the chest was opened in the Court of Common Pleas, 
 and adjudicated to him, the contents being title deeds 
 to property of which he was in actual possession. ^ 
 
 Some weeks later, a novel arrangement was made 
 for the determination of the main controversy. 
 
 On the 19th June, the House of Commons sent 
 up a petition praying that the suit concerning the 
 castle and manor of Dunster, the manors of Mine- 
 head, Kilton, and Carhampton, and the hundred of 
 Carhampton, with their appurtenances, should be 
 referred to the award and judgement of four lords of 
 the realm and all the justices. To this the Duke of 
 York, on behalf of himself and his parceners agreed, 
 stipulating only that the lords selected and the justices 
 should swear before the King in Parliament to settle 
 the matter according to the laws of the realm before 
 a certain day, without showing favour to either party. 
 The plaintiffs accordingly nominated two laymen, the 
 Lords Roos and Furnival, and the defendant nomin- 
 ated the Bishops of Exeter and St David's. The ist 
 of November was moreover fixed as the latest day for 
 their decision. The Bishop of Exeter and the two lay 
 
 • Placita de Banco, no. 581, m. 119.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 85 
 
 lords took the stipulated oaths on the spot, and Par- 
 liamentary authority was given to the King's Council 
 to receive the oaths of the other arbitrators during 
 the recess then about to begin. Seven of the judges 
 were sworn before the King and the Bishop of 
 Durham, then Chancellor of England, at the house 
 of the latter on the 3rd of July, William Gascoigne, 
 the Chief Justice being absent. It was not, however, 
 until the 22nd of October that the court was fully 
 constituted, the Bishop of St David's then taking the 
 oath, together with Laurence Drue who had been 
 substituted for the Bishop of Exeter. The arguments 
 seem to have been continued, by consent of the part- 
 ies, beyond the date originally fixed for the decision, 
 but without any result, no definite issue having been 
 joined, and the parties being still " f ;^ travers. "^ 
 
 At some unspecified date in November or Decem- 
 ber, the Commons took up the matter again on behalf 
 of Sir Hugh Luttrell, who sat among them as one of 
 the members for Devonshire. Contrasting " the poor 
 estate of the said Hugh " with " the great estates " of 
 his adversaries, they prayed that the special assize 
 should be repealed, unless concerned with evidence 
 already produced, and that no fresh commission for a 
 special assize should be issued. They further prayed 
 that if a suit should be instituted for trial by the 
 country in the normal manner, nobody should be 
 put on the jury who had not 40/. a year in land, and 
 they ended by observing that the estates in question 
 were of great value and the parties powerful persons, 
 so that " mischief and riot " might easily arise unless 
 special precautions were taken. To this the King 
 replied that the statute made should be observed, and 
 
 ' Rotuli Paliamentoruni, vol. iii. pp. 577, 578.
 
 86 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. hi. 
 
 that the Sheriff of Somerset should be sworn before 
 the Council to empanel the most sufficient and im- 
 partial persons in his bailiwick. ^ 
 
 There is at Dunster Castle an original deposition 
 made by Sir Baldwin Malet at Enmore on the 30th 
 of December 1406, that he and other military tenants 
 of the Honour of Dunster had duly recognised the 
 conveyance made by Sir John and Lady de Mohun 
 to the Bishop of London and other trustees. Attach- 
 ed to it is an undated list of the principal men of 
 Somerset, classified as " knights, " " esquires with 
 100 marks at the least," and " esquires with 40/. at the 
 least." Dots against the names of twelve persons of 
 the second category suggest that they were to be 
 empanelled as a jury. ^ Nevertheless it seems fairly 
 clear that the case was heard at Ilchester, in Michael- 
 mas term, by special commissioners, probably the 
 whole judicial bench, as Markham and Hankford, 
 who had not been nominated in the commission of 
 the 14th of May 1405, took part in the proceedings. 
 The two Chief Justices, the Chief Baron, and other 
 judges were certainly present, and a long array of 
 Serjeants and counsel. Robert Tirwhit conducted the 
 case for the plaintiffs, and Robert Hill for the defend- 
 ant. Some of their arguments have been reported at 
 considerable length, dealing with highly technical 
 points of law. For the present purpose it is sufficient 
 to note that the plaintiffs disputed the validity in law 
 of certain transactions subsequent to the entail of 
 1346.^ The report ends abruptly with an adjourn- 
 ment, and all that we know further about the matter 
 is that Sir Hugh Luttrell remained in possession. 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell was again returned as a knight 
 
 ' Roiiili Parliamentorum, vol. iii. * D.C.M. iv. 17. 
 
 p. 597. * Year Book, Mich. 8 Hen. IV. no. 12,
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 87 
 
 of the shire for Devon in 1407. ^ Three years later, 
 when he was Steward of the Household of Queen 
 Joan, he was appointed by her to the offices of 
 constable of Bristol Castle and keeper of the forests 
 of Kingswood and Fulwood for the term of her 
 life. ^ In 1 41 4, he was returned to two Parliaments 
 as member for Somerset. There are some entries 
 about the constableship of Bristol in his accounts a 
 few years later : — 
 
 1420. " In the expenses of John, son of my lord, and 
 William Godwyn travelling to London for the patents of 
 my lord concerning Bristol, and for other business of my 
 lord, in going and returning, for sixteen days, in all 40J. " 
 
 " Paid to the clerk of the Pipe for searching the evidences 
 and record of the receipts of the Constable of Bristol and of 
 the dues coming to him, 35. /\.d. " 
 
 1 42 1. " Of 20/. received from William Godewyn of my 
 lord's fee from the castle of Bristol. " 
 
 Soon after the outbreak of the war with France, 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell seems to have been sent over to 
 Normandy as one of the councillors of the Governor 
 of Harfleur. ^ The following entry occurs in the roll 
 of his accounts for the year ending at Michaelmas 
 1416 : — 
 
 " In the expenses of Thomas Hody and John Bacwell 
 with three servants and six horses from Hampton to Dunster, 
 
 Hody was the receiver-general, and Bacwell the 
 domestic chaplain. In the absence of their employer, 
 they lodged at Dunster Castle for some weeks. The 
 only member of the family who is definitely stated 
 to have been there at this time was William Luttrell, 
 
 * Return of Members of Parliament, ^ Hall's Union of the families of 
 
 vol. i. p. 271. Lancaster and York. 
 
 2 Patent Roll, 14 Hen. IV. m. 22. ^ D.C.M. i. 16.
 
 88 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. hi. 
 
 Sir Hugh's son, and he stayed only two weeks. His 
 groom and the groom of his brother John were there 
 for five weeks apiece. 
 
 In February 141 7, Sir Hugh Luttrell undertook, 
 for a sum of 286/. to serve the King in the French 
 war for a year, with one knight, nineteen esquires, 
 and sixty archers. ^ The muster of his company, 
 taken before embarkation a few months later, shows 
 that he had serving under him Sir Geoffrey Luttrell 
 of Irnham, the head of his family, John Luttrell, his 
 own son, William Godwyn, his son-in-law, and six- 
 teen other esquires, forty-two mounted archers and 
 twenty-five archers on foot. ' None of the number 
 were military tenants of the Honour of Dunster. 
 The following entries occur in the accounts kept at 
 Dunster : — 
 
 141 7. "Paid to three Breton prisoners going into Brit- 
 tany for their ransoms and those of their fellows, for their 
 expenses, loj. " 
 
 " In the expenses of a French friar for six weeks, at lod. 
 2l week, lOJ. Also of six Bretons and a page, captives, of 
 whom three for thirteen weeks at \Qd. a week, and three 
 for four weeks, and the page for ten weeks, 50J. \od. Also 
 of a man of Portugal for seven weeks, 8j. id. Of another 
 from Portugal for two weeks, is. \d. 
 
 " For the expenses of my lord travelling to the sea, on 
 the 8th of July, 7/. lis. \d. " 
 
 " In the passage of my lord, paid for meat taken for my 
 lord's hawk and expenses up to the same time, 16^." * 
 
 In the same year there is the following detailed 
 account : — 
 
 " The barge called the Leonard of Dounstere. 
 
 The account of Philip Clopton, master of the barge of the 
 
 I D.C.M. I. t6. * Accounts, Exchequer. K.R., bundle 
 
 » Vincent MS. { Heralds' College ) 51, no. 2. 
 29, f. 55. '' D.C.M. I. 16.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 89 
 
 noble lord, Sir Hugh Lutrell, knight, lord of Dounstere, as 
 for a voyage made by her from the port of Mynhede to 
 Bordeaux and back in the fifth year of the reign of King 
 Henry the Fifth. The same answers for 42/. los. received 
 for the freight of the wine of divers merchants for the 
 aforesaid voyage. 
 
 " In paid for food, drink, planks, nails, wages of workmen, 
 and other necessaries bought, and expenses, as in the repair 
 of the said barge, in part by the survey of the reeve of 
 Minhede, as appears by a shedule.... 4/. loj. lo^^'. And in 
 6 pieces of *tielde' bought for the covering of the ship, 13J. 
 4<^. In 2 rolls of * oleyn ' bought for repairing the sail 42J. 
 In old anchors repaired, 6s. %d. In * canevas ' bought for 
 repairing the aforesaid sail, yj. In empty pipes and ' barelles ' 
 bought for placing flour in, together with grease bought for 
 rubbing the same barge, i \s. In 7 broad planks bought for 
 ' alcassyng ' of the same, 6j. %d. In 5 live oxen bought at 
 lis. apiece, deducting 55. for hides sold, ^^s. In 2 pipes of 
 ale and other * barelles ' bought, 365. " 
 
 Other similar entries follow, the total gross cost of 
 the voyage amounting to 42/. 3/. \d. 
 
 In 1 41 8 and 141 9, Sir Hugh Luttrell was lieuten- 
 ant of Harfleur. He had authority also to treat with 
 the captains of different Norman towns that were 
 willing to capitulate to the English. ^ The following 
 entries occur in his accounts : — 
 
 141 8. "In cleaning my lord's baselard and knife, \\d. " 
 
 " In the expenses of my lady being there (at Dunster) 
 partly at the end of June and partly in the month of July, 
 for five weeks in all, as appears by a paper exhibited at the 
 account, 335. 5/^." 
 
 " In divers victuals bought for my lord and sent to him 
 at Harflete by the hands of Richard Arnolde, in money 
 delivered to the same Richard upon a tally, 104/. \'}^\d. " 
 
 " In a pipe of wine bought for the use of my lady and her 
 mother by my lord's order, as of his gift, 495. \d. " 
 
 ' Norman Roll, 6 Hen. V. part i. 7 Hen. V. part i. mm. 81, 79, 23^. 
 mm. 15^, 13d, \od ; part 2, mm. 41, 9 ; 
 
 M
 
 90 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. hi. 
 
 "In the expenses.... of two prisoners {prissonariorum), 
 each at lod. a week for twelve weeks, los. ; of one prisoner 
 {incarcerati) at lo^., for nineteen weeks, 155. lod. '* 
 
 The receiver-general was on the other hand charged 
 with 46J. 8^. " received from John Rede, pledge for 
 William Perderiall, a Breton, in part payment of his 
 ransom [Jinancie sue).'" 
 
 1419. "In 25 quarters of beans bought and sent to 
 Arflue, as is contained in a letter of my lord dated the 23rd 
 day of January this year, at 3^^. the bushel, 585. ^d. In a 
 pipe of salmon bought and sent thither, 4/. " 
 
 "In 5 quarters, 2 bushels, of beans bought and sent 
 thither, at i,^d. the bushel, lis. i^d. In 47 quarters, 4 bush- 
 els of oats bought and sent thither, at is. ^d. the quarter, 
 iioj. lod. In I quarter, 6 bushels of green peas bought 
 and sent thither at lid, 14.S. " 
 
 " In 4 casks of * allec ' (i.e, herrings) bought and sent 
 thither, 60s. " 
 
 " In paid for the freight of 25 quarters of beans, i pipe 
 of salmon, i pipe of * skalpyn, ' i pipe of green peas, to 
 Arflue, 6p. In 13J dozens of Meynges * and * melewell ' 
 bought, at 35. the dozen, 40J. 6d. In carrying the same 
 from Mynheade to Dunster and thence to Hampton, 465. 2d. 
 In 100 * hakys ' bought and sent to my lord at Arflue, 30J." 
 
 " In expenses incurred in the household of my lord there 
 (at Dunster) from Sunday next before the feast of All 
 Saints in the sixth year of King Henry the Fifth (14 18) 
 until the feast of the Assumption of St. Mary next follow- 
 ing (August 141 9), that is for forty-one weeks, three days, 
 and then my lord was at home... 14/. 35. 6d. " 
 
 1420. " In the expenses of Richard Arnold travelling 
 from Hampton to Dunster and taking with him two horses 
 of my lord, 5J. " 
 
 " In carrying to Dunster certain things of my lord that 
 were at Mynheade having come from Arflue in charge ot 
 Roger Kyng, 3^. " 
 
 " Paid to Roger Kyng, * shipman ', for carrying divers 
 victuals of my lord from Pole to Harfleu this year, 11/. " 
 
 " In the expenses of my lord coming from Hampton on
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 91 
 
 Thursday next before Christmas (141 9) and being at Dun- 
 ster for a certain time and then travelHng to Saunton, all 
 reckoned by William Person, 12s. ii^d. In the expenses 
 of the same lord at his next coming from Saunton to Dunster 
 and being there for a certain time at the Priory, 6s. \d. " 
 
 " In the expenses of my lord who was at Domerham, 
 Hampton, and Portysmouth, as appears by a bill under the 
 signet of my lord dated the loth day of February in this 
 the seventh year of King Henry the Fifth, 64/. 8j. In 
 paid to the reeve of Domerham for the expenses of my 
 lord who was there, as appears in a bill under the signet of 
 my lord, ^^s. %d. In certam victuals bought by Robert 
 Ponyngys, knight, for the use of my lord and sent to 
 Arflu, as appears by an indenture dated the 7th day of 
 April in the eighth year, under the signet of my lord and 
 the signet of the aforesaid Robert, 10/. 4J. In twelve 
 dozens ' myllewell ' and ' leyngys ' bought, and sent to 
 Arflu at the request of my lord, at Mynheade ; and they 
 were sent by Roger Kyng, by indenture, 36J. In twelve 
 * coungerys ' bought and sent thither by the same Roger, 8j." 
 
 " This beth the parcell, of the costages that beth makid by 
 Williham Godewyn and Richard Arnolde of Bruton aboghte 
 diverse vitailles the wheche the forsaide Richard hath delyver- 
 ed to Rogger Kyng of Mynheade, shipman, at the havin of 
 Pole, to the use and the profitez of my lorde. Sir Hugh 
 Lutrell, as hit is specyfyed in endenters bytwixt hem ther 
 of maked ; Forst, in 18 quarteres of whete boght by 
 Godewyn, pris the bushelez, lod^ 61. Item in 23 quarteres, 
 2 bushelez, whete, pris the bushelez, %d. summa, 61. 45. 
 Item paied for cariage of the same from the contre to the 
 ship 5 J.... Item in 10 quarteres of barly malt boght by 
 Godewyn, pris the bushelez lod^ 66s. Sd. Item in 54 quar- 
 teres of barly malt, pris the bushelez 9^, 1 61. ^s. Item in 
 6 bobus (oxen) pris of 103J. In 30 motons pris of 45J. 
 Item in 2 quarteres 3 bushelez salt for the same flessh, js. 
 6d. Item in 3 pipes for the same flessh, i hoiggeshede for 
 otemele and i barell for candelles, pris in al 45. Item in 6 
 bushelez of otemele, price the bushelez i6<^, 85. Item in 
 9 dosyn pondez of candelles, lOi. 6d. In reward of the 
 lardyner for syltyng (i.e. salting) and dyghtyng (i.e. dressing)
 
 92 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 of al the flessh, lod In i quarter 3 bushelez of cole, pris 
 
 the bushelez 3^^, 3;. 3<^. In i pipe for the same, lod. Item 
 payed for beryng of whete from the house of W. Waryner 
 into the ship, i6d. Item in mattys and nailles boght for to 
 make a caban in the ship for savying of the corne and of 
 the malt, 35. ']d. Item in caryng of 13 dosyns of fyssh from 
 
 Dunsterre to the Pole 125 This was write at Pole in 
 
 Ingelonde the 20 day of July the 8 yere of the reignyng 
 of Henry oure Kyng the 5th. " 
 
 " In a pipe of ale bought for my lord, 6d. In carrying 
 divers victuals, that is to say flesh, flour, oats, candles and 
 divers other victuals from Sheftysbery to Pole, lOJ. In carry- 
 ing the fish of my lord from Mynheade to Dunsterre 4*^. " 
 
 " In dehvered to my lady, by appointment of my lord, by 
 tally, 13/. 6s. %d. In paid the same lady, of my lord's loan, 
 to give to my lady's workmen of Saunton, by appoint- 
 ment of the same, 6j. %d. In delivered to the same lady for 
 wine bought for her use and that of my lady her mother, 
 against a payment made by my lord for the same, 6j. %d. " 
 
 Attached to the roll of accounts from Michaelmas 
 1420 to Michaelmas 1421 there is the following 
 letter : — 
 
 "Dere frende, y charge yow that ye take litill Will oure 
 servant 20J. for his fee of the last yer, and yif hit so be 
 that he compleine to yow of his monoie that y take him be 
 spendid in my servise, that ye take him whanne he depart- 
 ith fro yow to come to me resonable despenses ; and this 
 cedule signed wyth my signet sail be yowr warant. And in 
 al manere wyse thenkyth on my stuf of fich ageyns Lentin. 
 Writ at Harfleu the xviijt daie of Octobre. 
 
 Hugh Lutrell, knight, lord of Dunsterre 
 and senescall of Normandie. 
 
 Unto Richard Arnold, oure resseviour at Dunsterre." ^ 
 
 The accounts contain the following entries : — 
 " In paid to William called Lytelwille, my lord's servant, 
 
 ' A facsimile of another letter from at Dunster, is given in the Archceo- 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell to John Luttrell, his logical Journal, yo\. xxvii, p. 53. 
 son, and Richard Arnold, his receiver,
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 93 
 
 for his expenses at Pole and elsewhere on my lord's affairs, 
 this year in the month of December, lOJ. " 
 
 " In 54 quarters of wheat bought at Blaneforde and 
 Wymborne, the price of a bushel 10^., 1 8/. Also in 5 quart- 
 ers of wheat bought at Ruysshton, the price of a bushel 
 8<^., 26s. %d. Also in 51 quarters of oats bought at Blanford, 
 Wymborne and Ruysshton, the price of a bushel ^d.^ 61. iGs. 
 Also paid to William Warnere for a house hired from him, 
 in which to place my lord's corn, at Pole, 6s. %d. In the 
 expenses of Richard Arnold travelling in divers places, as 
 appears above, for buying the aforesaid corn, loj. In planks, 
 nails, * mattis ' and straw bought for making a granary in 
 the ship in which to place and keep the said corn, 4^. In 
 the carriage of the said grain i^d. Also in paid to Gervase 
 Knyte of Pole, ' shipman, ' for carrying all the aforesaid 
 corn to Harefleu for the use of my lord, 61. " 
 
 " Also in salmon y. In 61 ' mullewell ' and * lynggys, ' 
 3 1 J. ()d. In 64 *hakys' lis. %d. In 49 couples of ' pul- 
 lockes ' 5J., bought and sent to my lord at Harefleu ; the 
 total for purchase 51J. ^d. In carrying the said fish from 
 Mynheade to Hampton 14J. In a * sarpler ' (i.e. piece of 
 canvas) bought in which to wrap up the said fish, 6d. In 
 ' maylyngcordes ' bought for the same ^d. " 
 
 ** Also in a pipe of wine for my lady, who was at Saunton, 
 bought of Roger Kyng of Mynheade, for the household of 
 my lady, this year, 46J. ^d. " 
 
 " Paid to George, my lord's chaplain at Gyllyngham, for 
 the expenses of my lord there on his return from London, i ^d." 
 
 In this year there is an interesting inventory of 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell's plate and ornaments : — 
 
 " In primis, a coppe with a park. ^ 
 
 A coppe with a sterr. 
 
 A coppe withoute pomel. 
 
 A coppe with a perle in the pomell. 
 
 A coppe with an egle ygylt in the pomell. 
 
 2 coppis with eglis of silvyr in the pomell. 
 
 3 hie coppis with the coverclis. 
 
 ' A stag within a park paling seems Archceologia, vol. xxix. p. 387. See 
 to have been one of the badges of also Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1408- 
 Richard the second. See the plate in 1413, p. 147.
 
 94 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 2 coppis with 2 okurlis (i.e. oak orles, or wreaths) of silvyr 
 in the pomell. 
 
 2 flatte pecis with coverclis. 
 A vat ycoveryd. 
 
 An hie coppe ycoveryd with fetheris yplomyd (the crest 
 of Courtenay and Luttrell). 
 A coppe ynamyd Bath. 
 A coppe ynamyd Courtenay. 
 6 flatte pecis withoute coverclis. 
 A note (i.e. nut). 
 A spice dissch. 
 
 3 eweris. 
 
 2 sponis. 
 
 And all this ygylt. 
 
 A peyr doble baceynys. 
 
 3 sengle bacynys with 3 eweris therto. 
 A galon potte. 
 
 2 potell pottis. 
 
 4 quart pottis. 
 
 An ewer with 10 coppis withynne hym and 3 coverclis. 
 A round coppe ycoveryd and 8 withynne hym. 
 
 3 grete pecis ycoveryd, and 17 rounde coppis and a 
 tastour and an ewer for water. 
 
 A.... spone and a verke (i.e. fork) fore grene gyngyver and 
 15 flatte pecis and 3 coverlis. 
 
 4 chargeris. 
 
 2 doseyn disschis and 23 sauceris. 
 
 23 sponis of on sort and 17 sponis of a lasse sort and 
 3 grete saucerys with 2 coverclis, and 5 flatte saleris (i.e. salt- 
 cellars) and an ymage of Synd Jon of silver and gylt, and an 
 home ygylt, and 4 candelstikkis of silver. 
 Item por le Chapell — 
 
 In primis, a litil chaleis ygylt. 
 
 A paxbred ygylt. 
 
 2 cruetis of silver. 
 
 A corperas. 
 
 A peir of vestymentis. 
 
 2 towelles. 
 
 A lytil masboke. 
 
 2 parelles for the auter and a superaltar.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 95 
 
 " Of the whiche somme above saide my lord hathe with 
 hym to Harflu 2 chargeris, 12 disschis, 12 sauceris of 
 silver, 2 coppis and a ewer ygylt, an hie coppe and 8 with- 
 ynne, a gret flat pece with a covercle, 7 flatte peces and on 
 covercle, a basyn and an ewer, 1 1 sponis, 2 salers with a 
 covercle and the chapell hole, 2 quart pottys, and an hie coppe 
 with a covercle ygylt, and 6 littel sponys, and 2 candelstykys 
 of sylver. " ^ 
 
 Part of this plate had come to Sir Hugh Luttrell 
 from his grandmother, the Countess of Devon, and 
 part perhaps from his uncle WiUiam Courtenay, 
 Archbishop of Canterbury. ^ In 141 5, he himself had 
 paid no less than 54/. to the executors of the v^ill of 
 Sir Ivo Fitzwaryn for certain silver vases. 
 
 The exact date of Sir Hugh Luttrell's final return 
 to England is not knov^n. Richard Wydevill, how- 
 ever, occurs as Seneschal of Normandy in July 1422. 
 The last few years of Sir Hugh's life were spent in 
 retirement, probably in consequence of failing health. 
 Some further extracts from his accounts may not be 
 out of place here, in illustration of the history of 
 prices. The roll of expenses of John Bacwell, steward 
 of the household, for the year ending at Midsummer 
 1406, is especially interesting as recording all pur- 
 chases day by day. There being at that time prac- 
 tically no home farm at Dunster, all provisons had to 
 be bought, except venison, game, fruit and vegetables. 
 According to the custom of the manor of Minehead 
 maintained until our own time, the lord had the right 
 to buy fish there at wholesale price: — 
 
 1405, June 28 "In 14 fowls (pullis), 16^." 
 July I. "In 4 gallons (lagenis) of milk, 4^. In butter, 7^." 
 July 2." In two quarters of a calf bought, lod. In divers 
 spices, id. In 12 ' congrcs ' 4J. of the custom of the 
 
 ' D.C.M. I. 16. Antiquities of Canterbury, Appendix, 
 
 * P.C.C. Rouse, f, 15 ; Somner's p. 33.
 
 96 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 manor of Minhede. In 12 ' milwelles', 3J. of the same 
 
 custom. " 
 
 July 15. " In two quarters of wheat (frumend) bought, at 
 
 6j. %d. the quarter, 135. 4^. " 
 
 July 1 7. " In ' turbut, ' 5^; In a milwell, 6^; in an eel, 3-^; 
 
 in ' bremis ' and other fresh fish bought, i\d\ in 2 bushels 
 
 of salt, IS. A^d \ in 3 pottles of mustard, 7|-^. " 
 July 19. "In * saffron, ' y. " 
 July 26. " In a kid {capriold) %d. " 
 August 2. " In 3 ' maulardes, ' dd. " 
 August 7. "In 100 herrings (allec)^ i6d.'" 
 August 9. " In 2 little pigs (porcellis) bought, I2d. " 
 August 16. "In 4 geese bought, lod." 
 August 28. " In 2 ' raies ' bought at Minhede, 6d. " 
 September 3. "In a quarter of a mutton bought, hd. " 
 September 6. " In 8 dozen geese bought in Alliremore by 
 
 Henry Baker, 22i. " 
 
 September 30. " In a salmon, "jd. " 
 
 October 2. "In white herrings (allec albis), i']d. " 
 
 October 11. "In powder of ginger and of pepper, 4^. " 
 
 October 21. " In a * haque ' bought, 5^. " 
 
 October 22. " In 3 'wodecokes ' bought, 3^." 
 
 October 23. " In 2 salmon bought at Le Merssh i2d. In 
 
 15 live pigs bought wholesale (ingrossoj, 425., of which 6 were 
 
 sold for 20i. 4.d. and 9 became bacon. " 
 October 28. " In 200 oysters, 6d. " 
 November 13. " In 2 oxen bought wholesale for the 
 
 household, 23J. %d. " 
 
 November 25. " In 25 live muttons bought in Wales, i is." 
 December i i."In 10 se2L-dogs (canihus marims)houghtyiod." 
 December 18. "In a 'gournard' bought, 2<^. In honey 
 
 bought, ^d. In 12/^. of * almondes * bought, 3J. In 12/^. of 
 
 * dates ' bought, 35. " 
 
 1406. January 14. "In a * corlue ' bought, 3 <^. In 3 
 
 * maulardes ' bought, <)d. " 
 
 February 1 2."In 1 30 'haques' bought at Bristuyt, the haque 
 at 2^d.a.nd 120 for 100, 315. 3^. In 500 ' scalpines ' bought 
 at 25. 6d. the hundred, 1 2s. 6d. In 1 5 gallons of olive oil, at 
 1 2d. the gallon, 1 55. In 2 measures {copulis) of figs and 
 raisins, 12s. "
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 97 
 
 February 21. "In a goat bought, 6d. In a ^teel' bought, id.'' 
 
 March 7. "In fresh * melet ' bought, id. " 
 
 March 10. "In mussels (musculis) hought, id.'' 
 
 May 14. "In 140 eggs bought, ^jd. " 
 
 1405. July 10. " In the gift of my lord to divers fishermen 
 of La Marssh who presented to him * melet ' and other 
 fish, I2d " 
 
 August 24. " In the gift of my lord to a fisherman who 
 presented to him a * porpes, ' i2d. " ^ 
 
 1420. "In 3 bushels of oats bought for the sustenance 
 of my lord's swans, lo^d. " 
 
 " In a man hired to carry fish from the Master of Brugge- 
 water to my lord's stew at Dunster, y. 9^. To a certain 
 servant of the rector of Aller, likewise carrying fish, of my 
 lord's gift, 2od. " 
 
 1417. " To Philip the carpenter and his fellow for cutting 
 stakes (paludes) for enclosing the stews {stagnis) in the 
 Hanger (park), in part payment, i 8j. ^d. " ^ 
 
 1423. " 4J. paid for the carriage of live fish from Wol- 
 lavyngton to Mynheade, to stock my lord's stew (vivario)." ^ 
 
 14.06. "Five gallons of white wine bought at Brigewater 
 to fill up a pipe of wine somewhat diminished, 3J. 4J. " * 
 
 14 1 7. " Two pipes of wine from Gascony bought for the 
 use of my lord, 4/. 13J. 4^., also in the carriage of the same 
 wine to the Castle, §d. " ^ 
 
 1426. " In 25 gallons of red wine, 18 gallons of wine 
 
 called * bastard ' with the carriage and costs of the 
 
 same, 25^. yd. In a pipe of wine of the * Rein.' " ^ 
 
 Beer cost i^d. per gallon from Midsummer to Mich- 
 aelmas, lid. from Michaelmas to Christmas, and id. 
 from Christmas to Midsummer ; and thirteen gallons 
 were reckoned as twelve. At these prices the bill for a 
 twelvemonth ending in June 1406, came 1034/. is.z^d. 
 
 1405. July 3. "In 8 quarters of oats bought forthe provend- 
 er of the horses of my lord and his servants, at iSda. quarter, 
 los. %d. In hay bought for the same horses, 2j. " 
 
 ' D.C.M. XXXVII. 7. * D.C.M. I. 16. 
 
 » D.C.M. I. 16. * D.C.M. XXXVII. 7. 
 
 » D.C.M. XXXI. 8. « D.C.M. xxxvii. lo.
 
 98 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 October 9. " For a pad (panello) for the saddle of a horse of 
 the carnage of the household, \od. " 
 
 October 14. "In fresh grease bought for the feet of my 
 lord's horses, id. " 
 
 October 14. " In 4 halters bought for the horses of the 
 chariot {chariette)^ id. " 
 
 1406. June II. "In the shoeing of the horses of the 
 carriage and of other servants of the household, both at 
 Wachet and at Pottesham, my lord's horses being at Cantok, 
 4J. id. " ' 
 
 14 1 2. " To John Slugge, for a horse bought of him by my 
 lord, 4/. " ' 
 
 1416. "In the cost of a groom travelling from Dunster to 
 Taunton three times for the cure of a horse of my lord 
 there sick, 1 5 J<^. 
 
 " To Robert Hylwen, a groom of my lord, for his expenses 
 with two other grooms, and for seven horses of my lord 
 from Dunster to London, 13J. 4<^. " 
 
 "In 17 horse-shoes bought, to be put on my lord's horses, 
 25. lod. In 14 * revets ' for the same ']d. " 
 
 "In a * sadel housse ' bought for my lord's saddle and 
 other necessaries bought for other saddles and horses, 35. " 
 
 " To John Hunte, master of my lord's chariots {curruum) 
 for his expenses with regard to my lord's horses and 
 chariots, by a tally of which the counterfoil is not produced, 
 61. 135.4^." 
 
 141 7. " In the provender of the horses of my lord and 
 my lady for three weeks, 1 95. ^d. " 
 
 " After the departure of my lord, in 2 halters bought for 
 my lord's horses going out of Mersswode and placed in 
 ward, id. Also in ointment bought for their feet, id. In 
 a * horscombe ' bought 3^. " 
 
 " In ' canevass ' for the pads {j>anellis) of the saddles and 
 collars, 35. \\d. Also in 9 double girths {cinguUs) for my 
 lord's horses, i dd. Also in the woodwork (Jignis) of 7 saddles 
 for the carriage, is. loa. Also in lolb. * flokkis ' for the 
 stuffing of the same, 18^. Also in cords called ' teugropis ' 
 {i.e. traces), %d. Also in divers cords bought for my lord's 
 
 1 D.C.M. XXXVII. 7. ' D.C.M. i. 14.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 99 
 
 chariot, 14^. Also in cords for the whip, id. Also in 
 cords for driving (regendis) the horses of the chariot, id. 
 Also in 2 pair of * steroppis ' for the saddles of the carriage 
 and 7 * polys ' and 3 * reynes ' and 8 ' contre single boucles ' 
 for the aforesaid saddles of the carriage, 45. Also in * tak- 
 kys ' and nails {clavis) for the chariot, is. ^d. " 
 
 " Also in the repair of two * ronges ' for the chariot, 2d. 
 Also in * teughookys, ' 7^. Also in 7 * teugys, ' iid. Also 
 in 7 pads {panelles) for 7 * semesadils, ' at 8^. apiece 3^. 4^. 
 Also in a * strake ' {i.e. rim) and * dowlys ' for the wheels of 
 the chariot weighing i2lb. of iron, i6d. Also in ' vertgrese ' 
 for a horse of my lord that was sick, ^d. Also in white 
 wine for the same, id. " 
 
 142 1. "To John Taunton, keeper of my lord's horses, 
 for oats and horse-bread {pane equina) bought for my lord's 
 horses before the feast of St. Denys in the ninth year, 17J. 
 
 <)¥■ " 
 
 1409. "To Thomas Skynner for the rent of a house in 
 le Bailly in which to put my lord's dogs, 3^. ^fd. " 
 
 1417. "In expenses incurred in taking four couples ot 
 coneys and birds {yolucrum) sent to John Merchaunt of 
 Taunton at the purification of his wife, 2d. " ^ 
 
 1405. October. 29. " In fresh mutton and beef for my 
 lord's ' hawkes, ' i 'jd. In 4 chickens bought for the same, 6d. " 
 
 1405. July 17. " In fur and thread for repairing my 
 lord's gown {togd)y 6d. " 
 
 October 12. "In linen cloth and thread for two pair of my 
 lord's hose, 12^. " 
 
 " For the repair of my lord's wallets {besagiorum), 2d. '* 
 
 1406. February 11. "In two ' slipes ' of linen thread 
 bought by my lady, 35. 6d. And in the weaving {textura) 
 of the same, /\.d. " 
 
 April 10. " In two yards of linen cloth and thread bought 
 by the hands of Michael Strecche for my lord's * doub- 
 lettes,' 18^."' 
 
 1420. "In a pair of gloves bought for my lord, 6d. " 
 
 1 42 1. "To Laurence Taillor of London for making two 
 
 » D.C.M. I. 16. » D.C.M. XXXVII. 7.
 
 loo A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 gowns {juparum) of my lord of * felewet, ' {i.e, velvet), 1 3;. 
 
 1405. July 17. " In shoes, hose, shirts, and breeches 
 {braccis) delivered to William Russell, my lord's * henxteman ' 
 {i,e. page), lod. " 
 
 August 25. " For the making of two *dowbletes' for Wil- 
 liam Russel and Robert the keeper of my lord's horses, 
 together with breeches and spurs bought for them by the 
 hands of John Hunt, 2s. 6d. " 
 
 September 1 1. "In shoes for the groom of the bakery, 4^." 
 
 October 12. " To Hugh Taillor for shirts and hose bought 
 by him for three grooms of the stable, i jd. " 
 
 October 26. " Delivered to John Hunte, my lord's cham- 
 berlain, for buying spices and other things necessary for 
 the grooms of the stable, by his order, i6d. " 
 
 1406. April 10. " For hose, shoes, shirts and breeches 
 necessary and bought for the grooms of the bakery, the 
 kitchen, and the stable, 3J. Sd. " 
 
 142 1. "In 4 yards of russet cloth bought and delivered to 
 Thomas Pury, reeve of Estkantok, at 1 8^. the yard, 6s. " 
 
 The number of retainers living at Dunster Castle 
 seems to have varied from time to time. When 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell first took up his abode there, he 
 had a stev^ard of the household at 5/. a year, a cham- 
 berlain at i/. 6s. 8^., a cook at i/. 13/. 4^/., and fifteen 
 other men who received wages ranging from i 3/, 4^/., 
 up to 2/. Lady Luttrell had a damsel in attendance 
 on her, and there was one laundress for the whole 
 establishment at 6s. Sd. A constable of the Castle 
 is frequently mentioned, but he seems to have lived 
 in the town. Year after year. Sir Hugh Luttrell 
 made an allowance to Dan John Buryton, one of the 
 monks of Dunster, possibly in connexion with masses 
 celebrated in St. Stephen's Chapel or in the Priory 
 Church. The following payments are recorded in 
 1406: —
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. loi 
 
 June I. " For the expenses of the horses of Sir Hugh 
 Courtenay of Baunton and Sir Hugh son of the Earl (of 
 Devon), for two nights and a day, and in the expenses of 
 their varlet sent before them with * veneison, ' 4J. 9^. " 
 
 June 7. " Paid to William Brit sent from London and 
 returning to London, for his expenses in returning, ioj. " 
 
 Lady Elizabeth Harington stayed at the Castle for 
 some months in 1424 with her retinue, and paid 
 handsomely for board. In the same year, Margaret 
 Luttrell, Sir Hugh's daughter-in-law, paid ^s. for 
 herself and her gentlewoman for one week. Master 
 John Odeland and John Scolemaystre, who were there 
 on business for eighteen weeks and ten weeks respec- 
 tively, got their meals free. 
 
 In 1 42 1 , Sir Hugh paid 5/. to a steward of his lands, 
 3/. to a receiver general, i/. 6s. 8^. to an auditor of 
 accounts, and i/. apiece to an attorney and a clerk, 
 but it is not likely that all these professional persons 
 resided constantly at Dunster. The following pay- 
 ments are recorded in the accounts : — 
 
 1406. February 12. " In three dozen of ' countours ' 
 bought for the exchequer (scaccario)^ 9^. " ^ 
 
 142 1. " In a bag bought to hold the roll of accounts 3^. " 
 
 1423. "In certain red (sanguinio) and green cloth bought 
 for the livery of the staff (familie) of my lord's household 
 this year, . . 4/. 1 55. 4^. " 
 
 1424. " In five dozens of blue f<^/(9^/VJ cloth bought at 
 Benehangre for the livery of the staff of my lord's house- 
 hold this year, with the expenses of carrying the purchases, 
 1 03 J. 4^. In five pairs of embroidered wallets (mantkarum 
 braud ) for my lord's five gentlemen for their livery . . i6s. 
 And in seven pairs of embroidered wallets for my lord's 
 yeomen (valentis) for their livery . . i^s. And in two 
 embroidered wallets for two grooms, this year, for their 
 livery . . is. id. " ^ 
 
 » D.C.M. XXXVII. 7. » D.C.M. XXXVII. 10.
 
 I02 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 1426. " In green and red (rubeo) cloth, that is to say for 
 sixty-six yards of each colour, bought for the livery of four 
 gentlemen, eleven yeomen (valettorum) and four grooms 
 (garcionum) who were in the household . . j/. lis. 6^d. 
 including the expenses and carriage of the same. " ^ 
 
 1405. November 6. " In an earthen pot in which to put 
 white salt, i^d. " 
 
 November 20. "In a piece of sackcloth of which were made 
 5 sacks in the bakery, price y. %d. " 
 
 December 1 6. " In 3 bowls (bollis) bought for the kitchen. 
 lod. In 2 cups (ciphis) bought for the buttery, iid. " 
 
 December 18. "In four dozens of tin vases (vasorum stan- 
 neorum) bought at Brigewater, 72J. In the expenses of a 
 man bringing the said vases to Dunster, 7^. In 6 ells 
 (ulnis) of * cannevas ' bought for the kitchen, 2s. 6d. " 
 
 1406. January 22. " In 4 wooden trenchers (discis) bought 
 for the kitchen, 4^. " 
 
 February 4. " In a wooden pot (olla) for the pantry, id. " 
 
 March 10. " In 4 wooden * tancardes * bought to spare the 
 pots (ollis) made of leather, 12^. " 
 
 January 5. " In a needle and * pakthreed * for sewing the 
 sacks of the bakery, id. " 
 
 February 1 1 . "To John Corbet, smith, for a * wexpan,' two 
 * wexirens, ' a * wexknyfe, ' an ' iren rake, ' a * pikeys, ' 
 a * matok, ' thirty-six * hoques ' for hanging bacon in the 
 kitchen, etc. 6s. %d. " 
 
 1405. July 17. " In lib. of wax for making candles in the 
 chapel, "id. " 
 
 August 21. "In iilb. of Paris candles, 2s. " 
 
 November 20. "In a bundle of * macchernes ' (/.f. wicks) 
 for making Paris candles, 35. ^d. " 
 
 December 18. "In 1 1 J 'ronnes' of wick thread (fililkhenn) 
 bought for torches, 6s. id. In the costs of a man bringing 
 the same (etc.) from Brigewater to Dunster, is. id. " * 
 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell died on the 24th of March 1428, 
 aged about sixty-four. ' The foUov^ing entries occur 
 in the accounts for that year : — 
 
 1 D.C.M. I. 16. ' Inq. post mortem, 6 Hen.VI.no. 32. 
 
 » D.C.M. xxxvn. 7.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 103 
 
 " Paid to John Bien of Shaftesbury by the hands of 
 William Godewyn for spices bought of him for the burial of 
 the said Hugh, 19 August, 44J. id. " 
 
 " To Thomas Wylhams for white cloth bought of him at 
 the burial of the said Hugh, 6/. 45. Also paid to John 
 Slug for providing oats against the burial of the said Hugh, 
 1 1 J. Also paid to William Stone for white and black 
 cloth bought of him, together with the making of sixteen 
 gowns (juparum) and the like number of capes (capicium) for 
 sixteen poor people at the time of the burial of the said 
 Hugh, 74i. " 
 
 Two years later, there is the following entry : — 
 
 " Paid to Sir Robert Kent, chaplain, by order of my lord, 
 to distribute among the chaplains who here on the day of 
 the anniversary of Hugh Lutrell, knight, on the last day of 
 March, is. 9^. " 
 
 In 1432, we find : — 
 
 " Paid to William Stone of Dunster for six gallons, one 
 pottle and one pint of white wine bought of him on the day 
 of the anniversary of Sir Hugh Luttrell, knight, by order 
 of my lady, paying 6d a gallon, y. ^d. " ^ 
 
 A monument in memory of Sir Hugh Luttrell and 
 his wife seems to have been erected, or commenced, 
 on the north side of the chancel of Dunster church. 
 Both their effigies, made of alabaster and relieved 
 with gold, have been sadly mutilated in the course 
 of centuries, and it is very doubtful whether they 
 occupy their original position. They now lie under 
 a canopy carved in stone in an arched opening 
 between the chancel and the little projecting sacristy, 
 which was almost rebuilt in the nineteenth century. 
 The shields below them, likewise carved in stone, 
 bear no arms ; there is no inscription ; and the whole 
 structure, except the figures, may be an Easter 
 Sepulchre of the time of Henry the Seventh. 
 
 » D.C.M. I 17.
 
 104 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 It might have been expected that the name of the 
 Great Seneschal of Normandy, the first Luttrell lord 
 of Dunster, the builder of part of the Castle, would 
 have been so well known on the spot that there 
 could be no question as to the fact that he and his 
 wife were the originals of the two alabaster figures. 
 Yet every writer down to 1879 who has mentioned 
 them has described them as representing Sir John de 
 Mohun and his wife. This deep-rooted error appears 
 to have arisen out of an exaggerated respect for a 
 hesitating opinion of the old antiquary, John Leland, 
 who, in his account of Dunster Church, says : — 
 
 " In the north part of this was buried under an arche by 
 the high altare one of the Luterelles, or, as I rather thynke, 
 of the Moions, for he hath a garland about his helmet, and 
 so were lordes of old tymes usid to be buried. " ^ 
 
 Although the arms and legs of the knight have 
 alike disappeared, his costume, the * orle, ' or wreath, 
 round his basinet, the ' demi-placcates ' covering his 
 breast, the sword-belt hanging diagonally across his 
 body, the six overlapping ' taces, ' or plates, round 
 his waist and hips, and the ' tuiles ' that protect his 
 thighs, show clearly that he lived in the first part of 
 the fifteenth century. Furthermore the official collar 
 of SS. round his neck marks him out as a person 
 attached to the service of a Lancastrian king. No 
 lord of Dunster except Sir Hugh Luttrell answers to 
 this description. 
 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell's wife was Catherine daughter 
 of Sir John Beaumont of Devonshire, and relict of 
 John Strecche. Her first marriage seems to have 
 taken place at Christmas 1376, and although her 
 husband died without issue in the lifetime of his 
 
 ' Itinerary (1907), p. 166.
 
 EFFIGIES 
 
 of 
 
 SIR HUGH LUTTRELL. 
 
 AND HIS WIFE. 
 
 In DuTLSter Church. 
 
 AD. 1428-1435.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 105 
 
 father, Sir John Strecche, she obtained a life interest 
 in the manors of Wolston, in Devonshire, and Sampford 
 Arundel, in Somerset, which she was able to enjoy 
 with her second husband \ Several notices of her 
 in the Dunster accounts have been quoted already, 
 and a few more may be given here : — 
 
 1406. February 11. " Paid to brother Gilbert Ley for 
 mendding illuminating, covering and binding a missal, a 
 breviary (portaC ), and a French book, by order of my lady 
 6s. U. " 
 
 " On Easter Day. In the offerings of my lady and her 
 daughters, 4^. And in the gift of my lord to J. a Carmelite 
 friar of Bristol, begging, iid. " 
 
 " In the offerings of my lady on Whitsunday, id. " 
 
 June 1 1. "To my lady going on pilgrimage to Cleeve, 6</." ^ 
 
 During the long absences of Sir Hugh Luttrell 
 abroad, his wife seems to have spent a good deal of 
 her time with her mother, Lady Beaumont, at Saun- 
 ton in Devonshire. After his death, the manors of 
 Minehead and East Quantockshead, with the ad- 
 vowson of the church at the latter place, were 
 assigned to her by way of dower, but she appears 
 to have compounded for an annuity of 100/ out of 
 her husband's estates. She died on the 28 th of August 
 1435, and was presumably buried at Dunster. ' Her 
 effigy in alabaster lies on the north side of the chan- 
 cel there beside that of Sir Hugh Luttrell. She is 
 represented in a sideless dress, through the openings 
 of which may be seen the girdle of her kirtle, and 
 over all a mantle fastened in front by cords which 
 pass through open fermeules, or loops ; a long veil 
 hangs down from the top of her head. Her feet 
 rest on an animal now headless. 
 
 ' Inq. post mostem, 14 Hen. VI. ^ Inq. post mortem, 6 Hen. VI. no. 
 
 no. 30. 83 ; 14 Hen. VI. no. 30. 
 
 * D.C.M. xxxvil. 7.
 
 io6 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell had issue two sons and four 
 daughters : — 
 
 John, his heir. 
 
 WiUiam, who is mentioned in the accounts for 141 6. 
 He may perhaps be identified with the WilHam 
 Luttrell who was rector of Birch Parva in Essex 
 from 1 44 1 to 1443. ^ 
 
 Margaret. In July 1402, a marriage was arranged 
 between John Cotes, esquire, and Margaret daugh- 
 ter of Sir Hugh Luttrell. The former undertook 
 within three years to provide land to the yearly 
 value of 20/., to be settled on himself and his 
 wife and the heirs of their bodies. Sir Hugh on 
 his side undertook to provide 100 marks within 
 six months of such settlement, or 50 marks if his 
 daughter should have died in the meanwhile. He 
 also covenanted to supply the young couple, their 
 two servants and their two henchmen (chivalersj, 
 with suitable meat and drink for the first year after 
 the marriage, and to give his daughter a sum of 
 20/. ^ pour sa chambre'^ The accounts for 141 6 
 record a payment for " the expenses of divers ser- 
 vants of my lord going over to Warwyckshyre 
 with Margaret, my lord's daughter, by appoint- 
 ment of my lord, 281. 9^. " 
 
 Elizabeth. In March 1406, an arrangement was 
 made that William Harleston, esquire, should mar- 
 ry Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Hugh Luttrell as 
 soon as convenient after Easter. Sir Hugh under- 
 took to enfeoff them of all his lands at Debenham 
 in Suffolk, with remainder to the heirs of their 
 bodies, and ultimate reversion to himself and his 
 heirs. William Harleston at the same time under- 
 
 ' Newcourt's Repcrtorium, vol. ii. p. * D.C.M. xxxvii. 44. 
 
 60.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 107 
 
 took to enfeoff his intended wife of lands to the 
 yearly value of 40 marks, and to enter into a bond 
 to Sir Hugh for 125 marks, repayable in case of 
 failure of issue. ^ Easter fell on the 19th of April 
 in 1406. The following entry occurs in the ac- 
 counts of Sir Hugh Luttrell for that year. 
 
 " On the eve of St. Mark (24 April), in paid for the expen- 
 ses of John Bacwell sent by order of my lord to Brigewater 
 for John Somer, a friar, to come to Dunsterre (propter 
 Johannem Somer fratrem Dunsterre veniendum) because of the 
 marriage to be made (faciendi) between a daughter of my 
 lord and William Harleston, 2J. " ^ 
 
 Bacwell was the domestic steward at Dunster Castle. 
 In the accounts for 1423, there is a note that the 
 expenses were greater than usual" because Elizabeth 
 Harleston, my lord's daughter, was in the aforesaid 
 household with five men and seven horses at the 
 costs and expenses of the said household for seven- 
 teen weeks. " 
 
 After the death of her husband, this lady married 
 John Stratton, esquire, of Norfolk, by whom she 
 left a daughter, Elizabeth. ^ 
 Anne. In April 1408, an arrangement was made 
 that William Godwyn the younger should marry 
 Anne daughter of Sir Hugh Luttrell about Mid- 
 summer. William Godwyn the elder undertook 
 to settle upon them land to the yearly value of 
 20/. subject to his own life interest. William 
 Godwyn the younger undertook to provide a like 
 amount, while Sir Hugh undertook to pay 100 
 marks in instalments. * The name of WilHam 
 Godwyn occurs frequently in the manuscripts at 
 
 ' D.C.M. XXXVII. 6, 45, 47. 100; cf. Blomfield's History of Norfolk^ 
 
 * D.C.M. XXXVII. 7. vol. viii. p. 287. 
 
 » Inq. post mortem, 21 Edw. IV. no. * D.C.M. xxxvii, 48.
 
 io8 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 Dunster, where he held various responsible offices 
 under the Luttrells. 
 Joan. There are three notices of her in the accounts 
 of the receiver-general of her brother, Sir John 
 Luttrell : — 
 
 1428. " Paid to Robert Draper, by the hands of Thomas 
 Kynggestone, for the banquet of my lady Joan Luttrell, a 
 nun of Shaftesbury, on the 27th day of July, by order of 
 my lord, 40J. " 
 
 " To the same lord, on the 30th day of July, when the 
 same lord rode towards Shaftesbury to the banquet of 
 my lady Joan Luttrell, his sister, to be held there, io6j. 8<^. " 
 
 1430. "Paid to Robert Draper for the expenses of 
 my lady Joan Lutrell, and her sister, a nun of Shaftes- 
 bury, riding thence to Dunster and there on the 19th 
 day of July, 12s. "^ 
 
 The nun had apparently been allow^ed to revisit her 
 old home in order to see her brother on his deathbed. 
 
 John Luttrell, son and heir of Sir Hugh, was 
 born about the year 1394.* He was presumably 
 the person of that name who accompanied Sir Hugh 
 to Normandy in 141 7. During the next few years, 
 however, he was generally in West Somerset, living 
 either at Dunster or at Carhampton, and looking 
 after the affairs of his absent father. The accounts 
 for the year ending at Michaelmas 1420 contain the 
 following entries : — 
 
 " Paid of the reward made to William Franceys, my lord's 
 esquire, by John, my lord's son, Thomas Beaumont, and 
 others of my lord's council, who were at Dunster on the 2nd 
 day of September, and were thereon my lord's business, 20J." 
 
 " In the expenses of John, my lord's son, Thomas Beau- 
 mont, Hugh Gary, and others of my lord's council who 
 were at Dunster in the month of August on my lord's 
 
 ' D.C.M. I. 17. ' Inq. post mortem, 6 Hen. VI. no. 23
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 109 
 
 business, 9J. ^^^. In the expenses of the horses of Thomas 
 Beaumont at the same time, 2s. ^d. In the expenses of the 
 horses of Hugh Gary at the same time, is. <)d. " 
 
 There are frequent mentions of John Luttrell in 
 the accounts of the period, and several of them show 
 clearly that he was in charge of the building opera- 
 tions carried on at Dunster Castle in his father's 
 lifetime. 
 
 On succeeding to the inheritance in 1428, one of 
 his first duties was to arrange for inquisitions with 
 regard to his father's lands in Somerset, Dorset, Devon, 
 Wiltshire and Suffolk. The following letter to him 
 relates to this business: — 
 
 " My ryght worshipfull and with all myne herte welbelovid 
 cosyn, y recomaunde me to yow, beseching yow that ye woU 
 be remembrid of the litell money that I dude paie by the 
 hondis of Robert Colyngborne whiche ys toward me in your 
 name, as for the speed of your diem clausit extremum in the 
 counte of Wiltes, and by advys of your cervaunt whiche 
 laborid for hit in your name at that tyme, which drawith in 
 all to the summe of \\\]li. ixj. j<^., whiche y praie yow that 
 ye do sende me in as hasty tyme as ye godely may, consider- 
 yng my nede ate this present hoeure that I have for my 
 goyng obir see. And the holy Trinite yow evir conserve to 
 his plesaunce and your ryght greet joye and confort, 
 
 your cosyne, 
 John Stourton, knyzght. " 
 
 The accounts for that year record payments. — 
 
 "To John Stourton, knight, by the hands of Henry 
 Helyer, a yeoman {vadletti) of William Wadham, for taking 
 a certain inquisition in the county of Wiltes concerning the 
 death of Hugh Lutrell, knight, as by letter of the said John 
 Stourton addressed to the said John Lutrell, 4/. 95. id. And 
 paid to Henry Helyar for his reward because of his pains, 
 by order of John Lutrell, lod. " ^ 
 
 « D.C.M. I. 16.
 
 no A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. hi. 
 
 " To John Gregory, escheator of our lord the King in the 
 county of Somerset, on the loth of June, for the assess- 
 ed portion of the lands and tenements which were of the 
 said Hugh Lutrell in the aforesaid country, 12/. " ^ 
 
 Altogether, the sheriff of Somerset accounted to 
 the Exchequer for 34/. i 3/. ij^. for the issues of the 
 estate for sixty-one days from the death of Sir Hugh 
 Luttrell until the assignment of dower to the widow, 
 and for 6s. 3^. for the issues of two thirds of it for 
 one further day before the delivery to the heir, by 
 royal order. ^ John Luttrell had also to pay to the 
 Crown 44/. 8 J. io|<^. being two thirds of 100 marks, 
 by way of relief on succession to two thirds of a 
 barony. ^ 
 
 The following payments are recorded between 
 April and September 1428 : — 
 
 " To Thomas Touker of Wayssford for a barge bought 
 of John Foughler of Ireland for my lord's use, as for a 
 quarter of the same barge, 20/. 
 
 " To John Mathu for a ' burthyn ' and a half of salt fish 
 bought of him for John of Stourton the younger and 
 William Carent, by order of my lord, 16s. To John Foughler 
 of Mynhede, by the hands of the vicar of Mynhede, for 
 wine bought for my lord's household at Karampton in the 
 previous year, by order of my lord, 66s. 8<^. " ^ 
 
 John Luttrell had apparently been living at Marsh- 
 wood in the parish of Carhampton until the death of 
 his father. It is curious to note that throughout the 
 first five months of his residence at Dunster he had 
 guests at the Castle who paid for their respective 
 commons fpro communibus suisj. Lady Luttrell, his 
 mother, paid 10/. ^s. 2^d. for the board of herself 
 and her servants. Sir William Palton, a wealthy 
 
 > D.C.M. I. 16. » Memoranda Roll. 
 
 * Escheators' Enrolled Accounts. 29, * D.C.M. i. 16. 
 
 m. no.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 1 1 1 
 
 landowner, paid 1 7/. i gs. /\.d. for the board of himself 
 and his household, and William Cornu only 5/. 4/. 
 lod. for the like. None of these paying guests 
 brought any children with them, but Palton and 
 Cornu were married men who had houses elsewhere 
 in Somerset. William Cornu's wife had survived 
 two husbands, Sir John Malet, eldest son of Sir 
 Baldwin Malet of Enmore, and John Luttrell of 
 Carhampton, constable of Dunster Castle, who had 
 died in 1 42 1 or 1422 \ She was usually known 
 by the name of Dame Joan Malet. 
 
 The following payments made between Michaelmas 
 1429 and Michaelmas 1430, were charged against 
 Sir John Luttrell of Dunster : — 
 
 " To Robert Couke for buying silk at London for my lady 
 Margaret Luttrell on the 13th day of February, 6j. 8^. " 
 
 " To Thomas Merchaunt for buying victuals for my 
 lord's barge, by order of my lord, 10s. " 
 
 " To Thomas Couke for the provender of the horses of 
 Walter Portman who was at Dunster three times to confer 
 with my lord on his matter between him and the Duchess 
 of York, 3J. 6 J^. " 
 
 " To the aforesaid Thomas Couke for the provender of 
 the horses of my lady Elizabeth Courtenay who was at 
 Dunsterre for a day and a night, yj. iid. 
 
 " In four hundred * bukhurnes ' bought at Exeter for 
 the Bishop of Bath and Wells, at i']d. the hundred, 5J. 
 U. " 
 
 " To William Whevere of Whachet for weaving twenty- 
 four yards of cloth, 2J. " ^ 
 
 ' Some of the documents at Dunster Joan Crakeham, relict of John Crake- 
 are careful to distinguish this John ham, who had property at Northcote 
 Luttrell from his namesake and con- in the parish of Inworthy, co. Devon, 
 temporary ' the son of my lord. ' (e. g. describes herself, in 1475, as daughter 
 XVIII. 2.) He may probably be ident- and heiress of John Luttrell. (D.C.M. 
 ified with 'John Lutrell son of Richard xxxvii. 60.) It is, however, clear that 
 Lutrell ' who is mentioned in 1403 John Luttrell had no issue by this 
 (D.C.M. 1. 14), but he can hardly have marriage with the wealthy Malet 
 been son of the Richard Luttrell noticed widow. (D.C.M. xvil. i.) 
 at the end of Chapter H. A certain ' D.C.M. i. 17.
 
 112 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 The following payments are recorded in the house- 
 hold accounts for the same period ; — 
 
 " In 6 pipes, one 'hoggeshed,* 35 gallons (Jagenis) 3 quarts, 
 one 'pynt' (of white and red wine) bought for the expenses 
 of the said household, for the year, 1 5/. "jd. " 
 
 "In 51 24 gallons of good and of second ale bought. . . 
 26/. 23 J^. " 
 
 " In 7 pounds of pepper bought for the expenses of the 
 said household this year, 75. And in i pound 2 ounces of 
 safiron (croci) bought for the expensesof the said household 
 this year, los. /\.d. And in half a pound * saundres ' bought 
 for the store (conserva) %d. And in 30 pounds of almonds 
 (amigdelarum) bought for the store, 7^. dd. And in 28 
 pounds of* ryse ' bought for the store, 3J. %d. and in 28 
 pounds of * roysons ' bought for the store, 3J. 8^. And in 
 2 pounds of wax for the store, \%d. * In a * barell * of 
 
 * allec ' bought, beyond one ^barrell' received from the reeve 
 of Mynhed coming to my lord from * wayfes ' chattels 
 there, this year, 9J. lod. And in 100 red * allec ' bought 
 for the expenses of the said household this year, i %d. And 
 in a cask (cade) of * sprottes ' bought for the store this year, 
 IS. \d. . . And in 70 * hakys, * with the carriage of the 
 same, 9J. %d. And in 72 * stok fyssh ' bought for the store, 
 with the carriage of the same, this year, lis. \d. And in 678 
 
 * myUewell ' and * lenges * bought for the store by my lord's 
 order at Mynhed this year, 8/. 9J. 6^. And in c^i * congres ' 
 sea-salted (mersaultz) bought for the store beyond twenty 
 that remained over, i 8j. %d. And in a * barell ' of * stor- 
 geon ' bought for the store this year, 8j. 6d. And in 3 
 gallons of oil bought for the expenses of the said household 
 this year, ^s. " ^ 
 
 John Luttrell describes himself as ' esquire ' in 
 June 1429, and as * knight ' in March following.' 
 He survived his father by a little more than two 
 years and died on the 30th of June 1430. ^ It would 
 appear that he was buried at the Augustinian Priory 
 
 ' D.C.M. XXXVII. II. Deeds and Evidences, box 2. 
 
 * Court of Wards and Liveries, ' Inq. postmorteni,9. Hen.VI. no. 51.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 113 
 
 of Bruton, of which he was the patron. There are 
 certainly no traces of any monument to his memory 
 at Dunster. 
 
 In the accounts for 1430, a payment is recorded: — 
 
 "To divers men for divers necessaries and the chapel 
 (capeir) on the day of the burial of John Luttrell, esquire, 
 12S. 2j^." 
 
 In the accounts for the following year, there are 
 further payments : — 
 
 " To Robert Drapere for divers expenses incurred for the 
 anniversary of Sir John Luttrell, knight, by order of my 
 lady, at Bruton, as in wax and other things bought for the 
 same, as appears by a bill exhibited before my lady Margaret 
 Lutrell on the 6th day of September in the eighth (rectius 
 ninth) year, 145. iid. And paid for divers expenses made 
 with regard to holding the anniversary of Sir John Lutrell, 
 knight, at Bruton, on the 6th day of August in the ninth 
 year of King Henry the Sixth, as appears by a bill exhibited 
 at the audit of this account and attached to this account, 
 
 The details are as follows : — 
 
 " Bruton. Expenses incurred there by'Robert Draper for 
 holding the anniversary of Sir John Luttrell, knight, there 
 on the 6th day of August in the ninth year of King Henry 
 the Sixth. " 
 
 " In primis in six pounds of wax bought for making thereof 
 five round candles (cereis)^ at 5^. a pound, is. 6d. In wicks 
 (lichinis) bought for the same, id. In making of the same, 
 id. In four pounds of wax bought, as in four ' torchis ' 
 hired from the sacristan of the church there, paying 5^. a 
 pound, 2od. In a gift to four poor men for holding the 
 said *torchis' at the obsequies and at the mass, to each of 
 them 4^., idd. In a gift to the beadsman (oratori) for 
 proclaiming the anniversary in the town, id. In offerings, 
 2d. In bread bought as well for the Prior and the Convent 
 as for others who came to the obsequies, 1 5^. In fourteen 
 gallons (lagenis) of good ale bought for the same, is. ^d.
 
 114 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 In one gallon of ale bought for the Prior there, ^d. In 
 the distribution made to the Prior and Convent there, that 
 is to say to the Prior, ^od. and to the fifteen canons, iid. 
 to each, 15J. Item, to two secular priests, iid. Item, to 
 two clerks, ^d. Item, to six poor folk, 3<3'. Item, for ringing 
 the knell (pro classico puhando)^ ^d. Item, paid to Thomas 
 Sartrye, late sacristan of the Priory of Bruton, for five 
 pounds of wax bought of him, with the making, on the 
 day of my lord's anniversary, at 6d. the pound, 2i. 6d. 
 Sum total 3 3 J. 3^. " ^ 
 
 Sir John Luttrell married, in or before 1422, Mar- 
 garet daughter of Sir John Tuchet, Lord Tuchet or 
 Audley, the owner of Nether Stowey Castle. ^ By her 
 he had issue two sons : — 
 
 John, who predeceased him.' 
 
 James, his successor, an infant at the time of his 
 death. 
 
 After the death of Sir John Luttrell, Margaret the 
 widow had dower assigned to her by the escheator 
 of Somerset and Dorset. 
 
 The following entries occur in her accounts : — 
 
 " Paid to Walter Paunsefote, escheator of our lord the 
 King, by the hands of Walter Portman, being here for 
 assignment of dower to my lady Margaret Luttrell, to- 
 gether with a reward made to W. Bouchell his clerk, by 
 my lady's order, 5 35. ^d. And in the expenses of the said 
 escheator of our lord the King, of Walter Portman, of 
 William Cloutesham, and others of my lady's council, 
 together with the expenses of twelve jurors who were at the 
 same place for the assignment of dower, together with the 
 expenses of the said escheator by the way in going and 
 returning, with a reward made to the said escheator's ser- 
 vant, 1 7 J. lO^d. " 
 
 ' D.C.M. I. 17. born before 1398, he cannot have been 
 
 * D.C.M. XXIV. 6. Settlement of the her father, 
 manor of Kilton. In some pedigrees, ' Calendar of Patent Rolls, i42q-i 436 
 
 she is called daughter of James, Lord p. 86. 
 Audley, but as this nobleman was not
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 115 
 
 A third of the Luttrell estates having been recent- 
 ly assigned to Dame Catherine, reUct of Sir Hugh, 
 Dame Margaret obtained a third of the remaining 
 two thirds. Although it has been generally held 
 that a widow could not have dower in the caputs or 
 head-place, of a barony, it is certain that this Lady 
 Luttrell received in this respect a third of Dunster 
 Castle, comprising the new gatehouse, the older gate- 
 way adjoining, and land on the Castle Tor.^ She does 
 not, however, appear to have lived there. When 
 she came thither in the first year of her widowhood, 
 it was to take part in an archery match with some 
 of the neighbours. The following entry occurs in the 
 accounts for the year ending in September 1431 : — 
 
 " In the expenses of my lady Margaret Lutrell and others 
 coming with her on Sunday the first day of July, who were 
 at Dunsterre to shoot (ad sagittandum) with Thomas Bratton 
 and others, 15. ^d. " 
 
 The same account contains also the following 
 entries : — 
 
 "In five yards of 'fustyan' bought in the market-place (foro) 
 of Dunsterre for a double gown of my lady, 2s. i\d. And in a 
 quarter of a yard of 'tarterys' bought for the said gown, 10^." 
 
 " In two yards of linen cloth called ' Braban ' bought for 
 James, my lady's son, i^d. And in a yard and a half of 
 russet cloth bought of William Stone for the said James, 9<^." 
 
 " Paid to Joan Noryce, my lady's nurse, for her wages in 
 arrear, by the hands of William Percare, chaplain, of Wales, 
 and William Warderoppe, 6s. %d. In six ' douseynys ' of 
 white cloth bought for the livery of my lady at divers prices 
 this year, 375. In ten ' douseynys ' of white cloth woven for 
 the said livery, this year, of Robert Northam, 55. In fulling 
 the said ten * douseyns,' paying \d. * per doseyne,' 3J. 4^. 
 In dyeing all the aforesaid cloth, together with a piece 
 containing twenty yards, to a black colour, by John Dyer, 
 by the view of William Warderoppe, paying i id. * per 
 
 • Inq. postmortem, 9 Hen. VI.no. 51.
 
 ii6 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 doseyne,' i yj. 6d. And paid to Thomas Touker of Clyve 
 for shearing all the aforesaid cloth, 4J. And paid to John 
 Dyer for dyeing a bed-cover, * tapytes, curteynes, costerys, 
 bankerys ' and * guysshenys ' {i.e. cushions) both for my lady's 
 hall and for the chamber and the chapel at Karampton, yj." ^ 
 
 The accounts of the reeve of Carhampton Barton 
 for this year show^ the distribution of the rabbits 
 taken at the warren by the parker of Dunster Hanger. 
 Some were given by order of Lady Luttrell to Lady 
 Elizabeth Harington, to Dame Joan Malet, to Thomas 
 Copleston, and to Thomas Bratton already mentioned.^ 
 
 The following payments are recorded between 
 September 1431 and March 1432 : — 
 
 " In the expenses of William Bonvyle, knight, Edward 
 Seynt Jon, Thomas Bratton, John Lauerance, Walter 
 Portman, and part of the household of my lady Margaret 
 Lutrell, who were at Taunton with thirty-six horses, from 
 Monday the loth day of December until the Wednesday 
 next following after dinner, for a certain love-day (die 
 amoris) between my lady Catherine Lutrell of the one part 
 and my lady Margaret Lutrell of the other part, together with 
 rewards made to the cook of the aforesaid William Bonvyle, 
 knight, and other servants who were then there, 4/. i ^d. " 
 
 " And paid to John Lauerance who was at Taunton for 
 the aforesaid day, of the council of my said lady Margaret 
 Luttrell, by assent of Walter Portman one of the council of 
 my said lady Margaret, 135. /\.d. " 
 
 " And in the expenses of Robert Ryvers sent to London 
 by my lady Margaret Luttrell, to confer both with the 
 Bishop of Bath and Walter Portman about the said love 
 day and about the payment there of the farm of Dunsterre 
 in part, to wit that of the month of November, and to do 
 other business there of my lady, in going and staying there 
 and returning, for three weeks and four days, 33J. lod. " 
 
 " To William Wardropere, by order of my lady, to 
 distribute to priests for the soul of John Lutrell, knight, on 
 the 1 7th day of January, 2d. " 
 
 ' D.C.M. I. 17. » D.C.M. xvin. 3.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 117 
 
 In three months between Michaelmas and Christ- 
 mas, the steward of the household at Carhampton, that 
 is to say at Marshwood, bought 246 gallons of good 
 ale from divers tenants at Dunster at the rate of ij^. 
 per gallon and 619 gallons of second ale at id. The 
 consumption of pigeons was also considerable, the 
 number in one year being 632, of which 124 came from 
 the dovecot in the ' barnecourt ' at Dunster, 504 were 
 bought from the reeve of East Quantockshead, and 4 
 were presented. The reeve of Woolavington was given 
 4^/. as a reward for the capture of a stray swan, and 
 was paid los. Sd. for great and small eels supplied by 
 him in the lifetime of Sir John Luttrell. 
 
 Dame Margaret Luttrell's expenses were at one 
 time larger than her income, and she had difficulty in 
 coming to a settlement with her receiver-general, 
 Robert Ryvers. In his account for the six months 
 ending in March 1432, he credited the following to 
 her : — 
 
 " The same Robert has received of the same Margaret, 
 as in silver vases bought of her, 20/. And the same has 
 received of her, as in silver cups (ciphis) bought of the same 
 Margaret, 7/. 55. And the same Robert has received of 
 the same Margaret, as in a silver pot (olla) bought of her, 
 5 8 J. (^d. And the same Robert has received of the same 
 Margaret, as in a white bed of half * worstede ' with other 
 clothes (vestibus) bought of her and received in part payment 
 of his aforesaid excess, 33J. 4^. 
 
 Even after this, she owed him more than 90/. ' 
 Shortly before the close of the account, she had 
 married a second husband named Robert Coker, 
 without obtaining the royal licence which was then 
 necessary for the widow of a tenant in chief. The 
 marriage of course remained valid, but a pardon to 
 
 ' D.C.M. I. 17 ; XXXVII. 12.
 
 ii8 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 the offending parties was only given on payment to 
 the Crown of the then very considerable fine of 40/. ^ 
 According to the common practice of the time, Lady 
 Luttrell retained the surname and rank of her first 
 husband. She died on the ist of June 1438/ After 
 her death, Robert Coker was charged with having 
 committed waste in two thirds of the Castle of 
 Dunster and in the manor of Carhampton. ^ 
 
 James Luttrell, son and heir of Sir John Lut- 
 trell, was three or four years of age at the time of 
 his father's death in July 1430, and accordingly 
 became a ward of the Crown. Within a few months, 
 however, the keeping of two thirds of Sir John's 
 lands was committed to John Stafford, Bishop of 
 Bath and Wells, a close friend of the Luttrell family, 
 Sir Humphrey Stafford, his brother, and Sir Philip 
 Courtenay, a cousin of the heir. * 
 
 The following payment is recorded in 1431 : — 
 
 " In the expenses of my lady Margaret Luttrell riding 
 with eight horses to Hoke (in Dorset) to confer with 
 Humphrey Stafford, in going and returning, for four days, 
 1 2 J. io|-<^. " 
 
 In July 1433, ^^^ ^i'^g s*^^^ to Humphrey, Earl of 
 Stafford for 400 marks, the right of tendering in 
 marriage to James Luttrell a lady of suitable rank. ^ 
 There is reason, however, to believe that the Earl 
 shortly made over this right to Courtenay. At any 
 rate it is certain that Courtenay aimed at concentrat- 
 ing in his own hands the divided estates of the 
 Luttrells. At various dates in the years 1437 and 
 
 ' Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1 42g-i 436, p .574. 
 
 p. 188. * Escheators' Enrolled Accounts, 31. 
 
 * Inq. post mortem. 17 Hen. VI. no. m. 59. 
 
 14. The original draft of this document •' Calendar of Patent Rolls, I42g-i4j6, 
 
 has been preserved; D.C.M. i. 20. p. 224. 
 
 ' Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1436-1441,
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 119 
 
 1439, he obtained a demise of the manor of Minehead 
 at a yearly rent of 100 marks, afterwards reduced by 
 40/, a fresh demise of two thirds of Sir John Luttrell's 
 lands at a yearly rent of 100/, and a demise of the 
 lands lately held by Dame Margaret Luttrell, at a 
 yearly rent fixed by the Lord Treasurer at 83/. He 
 also occurs as the chief feoffee of the advowson of 
 the church of East Quantockshead. In 1445, he 
 applied for an abatement of his rent, on the score 
 that, although James Luttrell had been his ward for 
 a long time, and the royal grants had been made for 
 his own advantage, he was deriving nothing from 
 them, the actual yearly value of the estates being no 
 more than the 183/. for which he was liable. His 
 rent was accordingly reduced by 40 marks. ^ 
 
 In July 1447, at the request of John Stafford, now 
 Archbishop of Canterbury and Humphrey Stafford, 
 now Duke of Buckingham, the King promised that 
 James Luttrell should receive possession of his estates 
 at Michaelmas without proving that he was of full 
 age or formally suing out livery of them. ^ In Febru- 
 ary 1449, James Luttrell obtained royal licence to 
 convey the castle and borough of Dunster, the manors 
 of Minehead, Carhampton, and Kilton and the hun- 
 dred of Carhampton to feoffees, in order that they 
 should be settled on himself and the heirs of his 
 body, with remainder to his ' cousin, ' Richard Lut- 
 trell and the heirs of his body and ultimate remainder 
 to his own heirs general. ^ A settlement to this 
 effect was shortly made. * East Quantockshead and 
 other property of James Luttrell stood on a differ- 
 
 i D.C.M. I. 19; Calendar of Patent m.20 ; 27 Hen. VI. part 3, m. i. 
 
 Rolls, 1436-1441, p. 241 ; 1441-1446, p. ' Ibid. ; D.C.M. i. 24. 
 
 336 ; 27 Hen. VI. part 3. m. 1;. Wea- * D.C.M. i. 23. Some erasures and 
 
 vtv'?, Somerset Incumbents, p. 423. interlineations on this document occur 
 
 * Patent Rolls, 25 Hen. VI. part. 2. also on the original letters patent.
 
 I20 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 ent footing, not being held of the king in chief. 
 
 In 1450, the Bishop at Exeter issued a licence for 
 a marriage to be celebrated in the private chapel of 
 Powderham Castle between James Luttrell and Eliz- 
 abeth daughter of Sir Philip Courtenay, his late guard- 
 ian. ^ A large part of the Luttrell estate was settled 
 on her in jointure, some two years later. ^ 
 
 On the death of Richard Luttrell without lawful 
 issue, James Luttrell obtained some land at Kentsford 
 near Watchet, as an escheat to the Honour of Dunster, 
 Richard having been a bastard, and also certain 
 other lands at Iveton and elsewhere, which had been 
 settled on him in tail with remainder to the head of 
 the family. ' He got into controversy, however, 
 about the executorship, or administration, with Alex- 
 ander Hody, who was one of his own feoffees. All 
 that we know about the matter is derived from a bill 
 of complaint by Hody's wife. She therein states 
 that James Luttrell sent a man to her to ask where 
 her husband was to be found, and that she, suspecting 
 no deceit, told him where he would be for the next 
 three days, and that James Luttrell then took one of 
 Hody's servants " and putte hym in his castell of 
 Dunster by the space of a nyghte, so that the seyd 
 servaunt shuld not make knowliche to the seyd 
 Alisaunder of the unfeythfull disposission of the seyd 
 Jamys. " The story proceeds : — 
 
 "In the mornyng thereapon, the seyd Jamys with the 
 nombir of xxxv persones and moo, with bowys beyng 
 bente and arowys in ther hondys by hym unlawfully gaderyd, 
 wente to the house of Thomas Bratton, squyer, fadir in 
 lawe to the seyd Alisaunder, where and atte which tyme she 
 
 ' Register of Bishop Lacy quoted in ' Inq. post mortem, i Edward IV. 
 
 Oliver's Ecclesiastical Antiquities in no. 43. 
 Devon, vol. i. p. 28. ' Ibid.
 
 ARMS OF SIR JAMES LUTTRELL 
 
 ON THE LUTTRELL CARPET, 
 
 COTEHELE.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 121 
 
 saide her husbonde would be, and there sowght hym, pur- 
 posyng to have murderyd and sleyne the seyd Alisaunder. 
 
 " Item, the seyd Jamys and his servaunts to the nombir 
 of xxiiij*® persones, arrayyd with dobelettes of defence, 
 palettes, bowys, arrowys, gleyvys, and speris [went] to 
 Ca. . . . , and ther John Toker, servaunt to the 
 seyd Alisaunder, bete and woundyd, so that the seyd John 
 was in dispeyre of his lyfe. 
 
 " Item, the seyd Jamys with his servaunts and othir to 
 the nombir of xliiij** persones and moo, of grete malice 
 forthought purposyng to murdyr and slee the seyd Alis- 
 aunder, entryd the castell of Taunton and ther the consta- 
 billarye of the same, and all the dorys ther brake and entrid, 
 serching after the seyd Alisaunder, and vij sponys of silver 
 of the seyd Alisaunder and v ivery komys and other godis 
 of the seyd Alisaunder toke and bare aweye, and apon 
 the wyfe of the seyd Alisaunder asaute made, bete, and 
 with here daggers manassyd to slee, and so would have 
 do ner, by grace of God, one of ther felishipp lette hit, and 
 Water Peyntore, servaunt to the seyd Alisaunder, cowardly 
 nye to the dethe smote, and apon Sir Robert, preste to the 
 seyd Alisaunder, asaute made and hym by the here to the 
 grounde pluckyd, betyng hym with the pomeUis of ther 
 swerdis. " 
 
 " Item, the seyd Alisaunder askyth of the seyd Jamys 
 a c. marke in money of the dette of Richard Luttrell, whos 
 administrator of godis and catall the seyd Jamys ys. " 
 
 " Item he askyth of the seyd Jamys xvijs. and vj^. remeyn- 
 yng unpayyd for pottes of silver and gilte, for a gretter 
 summe of moneye by the seyd Alisaunder to him sold. " ^ 
 
 It is perhaps hardly necessary to remark that some 
 of the foregoing allegations, such as those about the 
 bows and the deadly peril of John Toker, were purely 
 fictitious, introduced for the purpose of bringing the 
 controversy within the cognisance of a court which 
 otherwise would have had no jurisdiction in the 
 matter. Some compromise seems to have been made 
 
 ' D.C.M. XXXVII. 16.
 
 122 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 in February 1458, when Alexander Hody gave a 
 general release from all personal actions to James 
 Luttrell, Simon Milbourn and John Loty, jointly and 
 severally. ^ 
 
 The dispute betvvreen Luttrell and Hody was per- 
 sonal and non-political, for they were both ardent 
 supporters of the House of Lancaster. James Lut- 
 trell fought against the Duke of York at Wakefield 
 at the end of December 1460, and was knighted 
 by the Duke of Somerset on the field of battle. ^ 
 Seven weeks later, he again served under the victor- 
 ious banner of Queen Margaret at the second battle 
 of St. Albans, but he there received a wound ot 
 which he died on the fifth day. ^ He left issue : — 
 
 Alexander, who died before 1481. 
 Hugh, his eventual heir. 
 Jane, who married George Stewkley. ^ 
 A daughter or daughters unnamed. 
 
 Very shortly before his death, James Luttrell char- 
 ged some of his lands in Sufiblk and Devonshire, and 
 others which he had acquired in Somerset, with a 
 payment of 50/. a year to John Loty, upon trust that 
 the money should accumulate in a chest to be sealed 
 by him and Elizabeth Luttrell, in order to provide 
 marriage portions for the younger children. ^ 
 
 The triumph of the House of York was disastrous 
 to the Luttrells, who had been attached to the House 
 of Lancaster ever since the days of John of Gaunt. 
 Within a week of his accession to the throne, Edward 
 the Fourth ordered the sheriff and the escheator in 
 
 ' D.C.M. xxxvii. 59. I Edw. IV. no. 43. 
 
 « Shaw's Knights of England, vol. ii. * Visitations of Somerset (ed. Wea- 
 
 p. 12. ver), p, 43. 
 
 * Wars of the English in France. ^ Inq. post mortem, I Edw. IV. no 
 
 (R. S.), vol. ii. p. 776 ; Inq. post mortem, 43 ; D.C.M. xxxvii. 15.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 123 
 
 Somerset and Dorset to seize all the possessions of 
 the Dukes of Exeter and Somerset, the Earls of 
 Devon, Wilts and Northumberland, Sir James Lut- 
 trell and Sir Alexander Hody, in those counties. ^ 
 Two months later, a somewhat wider commission 
 was issued to Sir William Herbert, Thomas Herbert, 
 John Herbert and Hugh Huntley, to take possession 
 of the lands of the Earls of Pembroke and Shrews- 
 bury and Sir James Luttrell, who are specifically 
 described as rebels. ^ For some unknown reason, 
 this commission was repeated in August. ' In the 
 meanwhile, the king had granted to Sir William 
 Bourchier the wardship and marriage of Alexander 
 Luttrell, the infant heir, as if it had fallen to the 
 Crown in the ordinary course. '' The Parliament, 
 however, which sat in November 1461 passed a 
 sweeping ordinance against all the chief supporters 
 of Henry the Sixth. Sir James Luttrell was therein 
 named amongst those who " with grete despite and 
 cruell violence, horrible and unmanly tyrannye 
 murdered the late Duke of York at Wakefield, and 
 who were consequently to " stand and be convycted 
 and attainted of high treason, and forfett to the King 
 and his heires all the castles, maners " and other lands 
 of which they were or had been possessed. ^ Lady 
 Luttrell had, in the earlier months of her widow- 
 hood, been tacitly allowed to receive the issues of the 
 lands settled on her in jointure, ^ and when the king's 
 officers took possession of these lands, she lodged a 
 complaint against them, protesting that she was a 
 loyal subject of the reigning monarch. A commission 
 
 » Calendar of Patent Rolls 1 461-1467, < Ibid. p. 19. 
 
 p, 32. * Roinli Parliamentoriim, vo\.v. pp. 
 
 ' 3 Ibid. p. 30. 477, 479- 
 
 » Ibid. p. 99. ® D.C.M. I. 27.
 
 124 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 of enquiry was accordingly issued in September 1462, 
 but it does not appear that she got much satisfaction. ^ 
 
 In June 1463, the King granted to Sir WiUiam 
 Herbert, Baron Herbert, and the heirs of his body, 
 the honour, castle, manor and borough of Dunster, 
 the manors of Minehead and Carhampton, the hun- 
 dred of Carhampton, the manors of Kilton, East 
 Quantockshead, and Iveton, and lands at Kentsford, 
 Watchet, Exton, Vexford, Rixen, Stogumber, Wib- 
 well, Huish by Highbridge, and Cothelston, in 
 Somersetshire, the manors of Chilton and Blancombe 
 in Devonshire, the manors of Stonehall and Woodhall, 
 in Suffolk, and all other lands and profits to which 
 Sir James Luttrell had been entitled in possession or 
 in reversion. The fortunate grantee was to receive 
 all the issues as from the ist of March 1461, that is 
 to say the third day before the accession of the king. ^ 
 This grant was renewed and enlarged in March 1465, 
 when some lands at Little Carhampton and Radlet 
 were mentioned by name, and the date was set back 
 to the 30th of December 1460, as named in the 
 retrospective attainder of Sir James Luttrell. ^ 
 
 Honours and offices of profit were showered upon 
 the new owner of Dunster. In September 1466, a 
 marriage was made, or arranged, at Windsor between 
 his eldest son William, who was only five and a half 
 years of age, and Mary Woodville, sister of the Queen 
 of Edward the Fourth. William of Worcester relates 
 that, on that occasion, the king not only dubbed the 
 boy a knight but also created him ' Lord of Dunster,' 
 to the secret displeasure of the great Earl of Warwick, 
 and other magnates. * There is, indeed, no official 
 
 ' Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1461-146'/, * Ibid. p. 366. 
 
 p. 231. * Wars of the English in France, vol, 
 
 » Ibid. p. 286. ii. p. 786.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 125 
 
 record of any such creation, but it is worthy of 
 remark that the younger WilHam Herbert is styled 
 ' Lord of Dunster ' in some royal letters patent issued 
 during the lifetime of his father. ^ Lord Herbert, 
 the father, was, in September 1468, advanced to the 
 dignity of Earl of Pembroke. In the July following, 
 he was defeated and captured in a skirmish at Edgcote 
 near Banbury. The Lancastrians, against whom he 
 had been so active in previous years, took him to 
 Northampton and there beheaded him, with his 
 brother. Sir Richard Herbert. ^ The inquisitions 
 taken after his death make no mention of lands in 
 Somerset, Devon, or Suffolk, although it is stated 
 elsewhere that he died seised of the forfeited inherit- 
 ance of the Luttrells. ^ On the other hand, it is not 
 necessary to suppose that either of the Earls of Pem- 
 broke ever lived at Dunster Castle. Their main pos- 
 sessions lay on the north side of the Bristol Channel. 
 William Herbert, son and heir of the Earl of Pem- 
 broke, being still a minor at the time of his father's 
 execution, became a ward of the Crown. When the 
 care of his lands was entrusted to his mother, in 
 recompense of her dower, the property of the late Sir 
 James Luttrell in Somerset and Devon was specifically 
 excepted. The King, moreover, appointed PhiHp 
 Beaumont, esquire, to be constable of Dunster Castle 
 and steward of all the lordships and lands that went 
 with it.* So again, in 1472, the King appointed a 
 certain John Gogh to be bailiff of Dunster and keeper 
 o Marshwood Park. ^ Earher in the same year, 
 he had committed to his brother George, Duke of 
 
 ' Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1467-1477, no. 21 ; 15 Edw. IV. no. 57. 
 
 p. 132. ■• Calendar of PatcntRolls, 1467-1477, 
 
 * Chronicles of the White Rose, pp. 24. pp. 174, 204. 
 
 III. * Ibid. p. 344. 
 
 ^ Inq. post mortem, 9 & 10 Edw. IV.
 
 126 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 Clarence, Peter Courtenay, the king's secretary, Sir 
 William Courtenay, Sir Philip Courtenay, and Sir 
 Thomas Fulford, knights, and John Courtenay, esquire, 
 the keeping of the manors of Minehead, Kilton, 
 Iveton and East Quantockshead, with the advowson 
 of this last, and lands at Exton, Vexford, Rixen and 
 Stogumber, during the minority of the young Earl 
 of Pembroke, free from rent. ^ The object of this 
 grant is not stated in the letters patent, but it becomes 
 tolerably clear when we find that the four Courtenays 
 named in them were the brothers of Lady Luttrell, 
 and that Sir Thomas Fulford was her brother-in-law. 
 Furthermore, the manors and lands so granted were 
 precisely those which she would have had in jointure 
 if her husband had not been attainted. Lastly, she 
 is mentioned elsewhere as the farmer of the manor 
 of Minehead during the minority of the Earl of 
 Pembroke. ^ We may perhaps ascribe her success in 
 this matter to the powerful influence of the Duke of 
 Clarence. 
 
 In December of the same year, the Earl of Pem- 
 broke's mother obtained a grant of the keeping of 
 the honour, castle, manor and lordship of Dunster, 
 and of other possessions of the late Sir James Luttrell, 
 except those mentioned above, at a yearly rent of 
 90/. ^ As the young Earl advanced in years, the 
 prospects of Lady Luttrell became steadily worse. 
 It was certain that, on attaining his majority, he 
 would eject her, the grant to her trustees being speci- 
 fically limited to the period of his nonage. In 1475, 
 therefore, she formally laid claim to the manors and 
 lands that had been settled on her during the life 
 
 ' Calendar of Patent Rolls, i^by-i^yj, bundle 67, no. 176. 
 p. 330- ^ Calendar 0/ Patent Rolls, i^6y-i4^^ 
 
 * Early Chancery Proceedings, p. 364.
 
 CH. III. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 127 
 
 time of Sir James Luttrell, pleading a clause in the 
 act of attainder to the effect that the wives of the 
 persons attainted should, if born within the realm, 
 enjoy their own hereditaments. She stated that she 
 was a native of Exeter, and asked that an inquisition 
 in favour of the Herbert family should be set aside. ^ 
 Inasmuch as a commission of enquiry was appointed, 
 and a Somerset jury endorsed her statements, it is 
 probable that her suit was successful. ^ 
 
 In the proceedings of 1475, Lady Luttrell is 
 described as a widow. She had, in point of fact, 
 had two husbands. Sir James Luttrell had, as we 
 have seen, been mortally wounded at the second 
 battle of St. Albans and attainted. After his death, 
 she had married his cousin. Sir Humphrey Audley, 
 brother of Lord Audley, but he in turn was taken 
 prisoner at the battle of Tewkesbury and beheaded. ' 
 Even in those distracted times of civil war, there 
 could not have been many widows who had, within 
 eleven years, lost two husbands fighting on behalf of 
 the unfortunate House of Lancaster. She eventually 
 married a third husband, Thomas Malet of Enmore 
 in Somerset, but, according to common medieval 
 custom, she retained the surname of Luttrell until 
 her death in the reign of Henry the Seventh. It 
 was under that name that she, in 1476, stood god- 
 mother to Richard, the short-lived son of her patron, 
 George, Duke of Clarence. * Her feelings at the 
 christening must have been mixed, for it was perform- 
 ed at Tewkesbury, the very place where her late 
 husband had lost his head. 
 
 ' Calendar of Patent Rolls; 1467-1477, the White Rose, p. 127; Paston Letters, 
 
 p. 522. vol. iii. p. 9 ; Rotitli Parliantentonint, 
 
 * Iiiq. post mortem, 15 Edw. IV. vol. vi. p. 128. 
 
 no. 57. * Dugdale's Monasticon, vol. ii. p. 64. 
 
 ^ D.C.M. XXXV. 24 ; Chronicles of
 
 128 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iii. 
 
 Alexander Luttrell, the eldest son of Sir James and 
 Elizabeth, died young, in obscurity. On the death 
 of William Harleston, son of William Harleston by 
 Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Sir Hugh Luttrell, 
 in 1480, it was found that, under the entail of 1404, 
 a moiety of the manor of Debenham, in Suffolk, 
 called Blodhall, should pass to his cousin Hugh Lut- 
 trell, son and heir of Sir James. ^ Notwithstanding 
 the act of attainder, the King eventually allowed 
 Hugh Luttrell to receive this small portion of his 
 inheritance as a grant from the Crown. ^ 
 
 In 1479, Edward the Fourth, wishing to confer 
 the Earldom of Pembroke on his own son, took it 
 away from William Herbert the younger, giving to 
 him in its stead the Earldom of Huntingdon. This 
 young nobleman had been allowed to enter upon his 
 lands before he was fifteen years of age, and he enjoyed 
 Dunster, Carhampton, and other Luttrell estates until 
 the end of the reign of Richard the Third. 
 
 ' Inq. post mortem, 20 Edw. IV. * Calendar of Patent Rolls, 146^-147'^, 
 
 no. 100. p. 566. 
 
 Standard Bearer 
 FROM THE Luttrell Psalter.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Luttrells of Dunster 
 1485—1551- 
 
 The signal victory of the Lancastrian party on the 
 field of Bosworth, in August 1485, revived the hopes 
 of all those who had been ejected by the Yorkists. 
 Henry the Seventh had not been on the throne many 
 weeks before some of them were reinstated. Among 
 them Hugh Luttrell, son and heir of Sir James Lut- 
 trell, presented a petition to the King in Parliament 
 setting forth that his father had been attainted " for 
 the true faith and allegiaunce which he owid unto 
 the right famous prince of moost blessed memory, 
 then his soveraine lord, Henry late King of England 
 the sixth, " and praying that the act of attainder 
 should be repealed, and consequent letters patent 
 made void. His petition was readily granted and 
 the agents of the Earl of Huntingdon made way for 
 the rightful lord of Dunster. ^ 
 
 Hugh Luttrell, however, had serious trouble with 
 his mother. Dame Elizabeth, and her third husband, 
 Thomas Malet, with regard to the lands which she 
 claimed to hold in jointure, and some jewels, plate, 
 and household stuff, valued at 800 marks, which Sir 
 James Luttrell had bequeathed to his eldest son. At 
 last, after legal proceedings had been begun, a com- 
 
 1 Roiiili Parliametitorum, vol. vi. p. 297 ; D.C.M. i. 26.
 
 130 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 promise was effected whereby Lady Luttrell retained 
 the manor of East Quantockshead, and Hugh under- 
 took to pay her 80 marks a year for the manor of 
 Minehead during her life. She and her husband then 
 delivered to him " two basons of silver, two ewers, 
 two gilte cuppes covered standyng, two pottes of 
 silver and gilt with a pot of silver, two saltes with one 
 cover, three boUes with one cover, a chafyng disshe 
 of silver, two doseyn spones, a chaleys, a masse boke, 
 a peir of vestementes, " and a list of the other goods 
 that should pass to him at her death. ^ 
 
 Lady Luttrell lived some years longer, and at her 
 death, in 1493, ^^^ buried before the high altar in 
 Dunster Church. An incised stone slab, which has 
 since been removed to the south aisle of the chancel, 
 shows her attired in a sideless dress faced with ermine, 
 and a mantle lined with ermine, the neck bare, and 
 the head covered with a veil falling below the should- 
 ers. Two angels support a pillow, and there is the 
 usual dog at the feet. The inscription around it 
 runs : — 
 
 ** Orate <:|ueBo |>ro dk bne (Bfi^dBet? feuttereff c\nc 
 o6iit pximo bie meitBis ^tptcm^txB anno ^ni ntiffio 
 cccc nona^eeio tercto. (Itunc QCre te pdimuB miBtttt' 
 <\B c\m x>mii rebime ptitos nofi batn^jnare rebem^)to6/* 
 
 This may be translated : — 
 
 " Pray, I beseech you, for the soul of Dame Elizabeth 
 Lutterell, who died on the first day of the month of Sep- 
 tember in the year of our Lord 1493. Now, O Christ, we 
 pray thee have mercy, and do not condemn the redeemed 
 whom thou earnest to redeem when lost. " 
 
 The second part of the inscription, as abbreviated, 
 
 ' D.C.M. XXVIII. 18 ; XXXVII. 6i.
 
 > ;DtfaJ oimicCH 01:1 a 0^ o\jo&tmoi/ 
 
 G^@Tatp quDfo )jro a\a buo Gluabctj) 
 
 HrtiKwtU Ljte rtti- 
 
 DAME ELIZABETH LUTTKKLL.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 131 
 
 was apparently intended to make two hexameter 
 lines, though at the cost of several false quantities. 
 It occurs also, some thirty years later, on an alabaster 
 tomb at Oxford, where the standard of Latin scholar- 
 ship should have been higher than it was in West 
 Somerset. ^ 
 
 Hugh Luttrell of Dunster was created a Knight 
 of the Bath at the coronation of Elizabeth of York, 
 wife of Henry the Seventh, in November 1487. ^ A 
 few days later, he received from his uncle Peter 
 Courtenay, Bishop of Winchester, a grant of the office 
 of Master of Poundsford Park, near Taunton, with an 
 annuity of 10/. for life. ^ He was Sheriff of Somerset 
 and Dorset for a year beginning in November 1488. * 
 Nine years later, he took the field against Perkin 
 Warbeck under the Duke of Buckingham. ^ When 
 the Princess Catherine of Arragon came to England 
 in 1 50 1, in order to marry the Prince of Wales, Sir 
 Hugh Luttrell was one of the seven knights and gen- 
 tlemen of Somerset who were selected to escort her 
 from Crewkerne to Sherborne.^ In 15 13, we find 
 him serving in the royal navy in the ship of Leonard 
 Fiscaballi. ' 
 
 There is a mention of him in a letter from Giles, 
 Lord Daubeny, Chamberlain of the Household, who 
 died in 1508, to Sir John Trevelyan, with regard to 
 the royal forest of Exmoor : — 
 
 " I am enformed that of late a litle grugge Is fallen 
 bitwene my brother, Sir Hugh Luttrell, and you, for that 
 
 ' Macleane's History of Pembroke Col- Luttrell was fined for assisting the 
 
 lege, p. 25. rebels seems to be founded on a mis- 
 
 ' Shaw's Knights of England, vol. i. apprehension. Proceedings of Somerset 
 
 p. 142. Archaeological Society,vo\. xxv.pp. 71,74. 
 
 ^ D. CM. XXXVII. 17 '^ Letters and Papers, Richard III and 
 
 * List of Sheriffs, p. 124. Henry VIL vol. i. p. 406. 
 
 * Holinshed's 'Chronicle,\o\. iii. p. 784. ' Letters and Papers, Henry VIU. 
 Mr. E. C. Batten's idea that Sir Hugh vol. i. p. 652.
 
 132 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 he hunted of late in the outewods of the said forest, and 
 therupon a couple of hounds were taken up by servants of 
 yours from his servants. After that, cousyn, inasmoche as 
 my said brother Luttrell is a boderer (borderer) of the said 
 forest, and that ye know he hath maried my sister, and the 
 man whom I doo love tenderly, my mynde is and desire 
 unto you that ye shuld have an yghe unto hym above all 
 others in those parties. And that when it shall like hym 
 to kyll a dere or to hunt for his disporte, that ye suffer hym 
 soo to doe, I pray you as hertily as I can. Writen at 
 Grenewich the xx daie of Feverer. 
 
 "And 1 pray you, cousyn, let my said broder take his 
 disporte, and if he list let hym kyll one dere in somer and a 
 nother in wynter herafter. " ^ 
 
 The allusion to Sir Hugh Luttrell as a borderer of 
 Exmoor is of course in respect of his property in the 
 extreme west of Somerset. There is, however, reason 
 to believe that he resided less at Dunster than at East 
 Quantockshead, where he appears to have built a con- 
 siderable part of the existing manor-house. To the 
 Herberts the Dunster estate had been merely a source 
 of revenue, and it is quite likely that they had suf- 
 fered the older parts of the Castle to fall out of repair. 
 
 At Minehead, Sir Hugh Luttrell built a small 
 pier and enlarged the harbour considerably, to the 
 great benefit of the little town. ^ In the reign of 
 Henry the Seventh he was the Admiral there, and, 
 on at least one occasion, he presided over a court of 
 Admiralty for the decision of a maritime case. ^ 
 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell was married twice. His first wife 
 was Margaret, daughter of Robert Hill of Houndston, 
 near Yeovil, a military tenant of the honour of Dun- 
 ster, by Alice his wife, relict of William Daubeny of 
 Barrington.* This Robert Hill was buried in Dunster 
 
 ' Tycvclyan Papers, vol. i. p. 120. logical Society, vol. xxxv. p. 50. 
 
 ^ Hancock's Minehead, p. 288. ^ Weaver's Visitations of Somerset, 
 
 ■' Piocccitings of Somerset Archceo- p. -^2 ; Trevelyaii Papers, vo]. up. 120.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 133 
 
 Church, but his arms are no longer to be seen there. ^ 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell's second wife was Walthean 
 daughter of — Yard of Devonshire, and rehct of Walter 
 Yorke of Exeter and John Drewe. ^ Her third mar- 
 riage must have taken place in or before January i 508, 
 when Sir Hugh Luttrell settled the manor of East 
 Quantockshead on her in jointure. By subsequent 
 arrangements, she also obtained from him the manors 
 of Kilton, Iveton and Vexford for her life. ^ In con- 
 sideration of some services or payments unspecified, 
 the abbot and convent of Athelney, in 1 5 i o, admitted 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell and his wife to their fraternity 
 and sisterhood, promising to them all the benefits of 
 their common prayers, and undertaking to celebrate 
 mass for their souls after death. * 
 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell had issue by his first wife four 
 children : — 
 
 Andrew, his heir. 
 
 John, sometimes called John Luttrell ' the elder ' in 
 
 contradistinction to his nephew of the same name. 
 
 He was the ancestor of the Luttrells of Kentsbury 
 
 and Spaxton. 
 Elizabeth. She married Sir William Carent of Toomer, 
 
 in Somerset, who died in 1564. " 
 Eleanor. She married Roger Yorke, Serjeant at Law, 
 
 son of her step-mother Dame Walthean Luttrell. ^ 
 
 It is uncertain whether Sir Hugh left any issue by 
 his second wife. Nothing is known as to the parent- 
 age of a certain George Luttrell who is mentioned 
 in 1580 as a 'servant' of Dame Margaret Luttrell. 
 
 1 Harl. MS. 1559, f. 235. * D.C.M. xxxvii. 19. 
 
 ^ Leland's Itinerary, p. 166; Early ^ Rutchins's History of Dorset. vo].iv. 
 
 Chancery Proceedings, bundle 319, p. 112. 
 
 nos. 36-38. "^ D.C.M. XXIII. 22 ; Heralds' College 
 
 ^ Inq. post mortem, E. H. 909 ; MS. C. 22. f. 393. 
 D CM. II. 5.
 
 134 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 He had a son John, baptized at East Quantockshead 
 in 1 57 1. Ten years later, he was married there to 
 Cecily Smyth. He died in 1593, and she survived 
 until 161 3. 
 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell died on the i st of February 1 5 2 1 , 
 and was buried at East Quantockshead. 
 
 Andrew Luttrell succeeded. He had been mar- 
 ried some years. On the 31st of March 15 14, Sir 
 Hugh Luttrell of Dunster entered into an agreement 
 with Sir Thomas Wyndham of Felbrigg in Norfolk, 
 the first provision of which runs as follows : — 
 
 " Andrew Luttrell, sonn and heire apparant of the saied 
 Sir Hugh, by the grace of God, shall mary and take to his 
 wiefe Margaret one of the doughters of the saied Sir Thomas, 
 or any other of the doughters of the said Sir Thomas suche 
 as the saied Androwe shall best lieke byfore the Wonysdaie 
 next after Lowe Soundaie next commynge after the date of 
 this presentes, after the cosdom and lawe of holye churche, 
 if the said Margaret or such of her sisters as the said 
 Androwe shall best lieke therunto will agree and the lawe 
 of holye churche it wyll permytt and suifer. 
 
 The time specified was certainly not over-long, as 
 there were only four weeks between the date of the 
 agreement and the last day allowed for the solemniza- 
 tion of the marriage. It was nevertheless stipulated 
 that if Andrew Luttrell should die during that brief 
 interval, his next brother, John, should, in his stead, 
 marry one of the daughters of Sir Thomas Wyndham 
 before Whitsuntide. Another clause runs : — 
 
 " The said Sir Hugh, at his proper costes and charges, 
 shall apparell the said Androwe or John that shall happen 
 to mary with one of the doughters of the said Sir Thomas 
 at the saied daie of maryage as shalbe convenyent for his 
 degree.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 135 
 
 Sir Thomas Wyndham on his side undertook to 
 " apparell " his daughter for the wedding, and to pay 
 one half of the charges of the dinner and other ex- 
 penses connected therewith. The bride's portion, 
 — seven hundred marks (466/. 13^. 4^/.), was to be 
 paid to Sir Hugh Luttrell in instalments, he settling 
 40/. a year on the young couple and giving a guarantee 
 that his son should eventually inherit the bulk of his 
 landed property. As both the parties to the intended 
 marriage were minors, the bride's father was to have 
 "the rule and governance" of them and their property 
 until the husband should come of age. ^ 
 
 A legal settlement in pursuance of this agreement 
 was made in May, shortly after the marriage of 
 Andrew and Margaret on the 22nd of April. ^ The 
 bride belonged to a family which afterwards acquired 
 considerable property near Dunster. In 1537, she 
 received from her mother's sister, Elizabeth, Countess 
 of Oxford, a legacy of a tablet of gold. ^ 
 
 It was perhaps natural that Andrew Luttrell should 
 quarrel with his step-mother. Dame Walthean, who 
 kept him out of part of his inheritance. In reply to 
 a bill filed against her in the Star Chamber, she stated 
 that after the death of her husband, Andrew Luttrell 
 " in Lent last past, of his wilfull and cruell mynde, 
 without any cause resonable, took her goodes and 
 catalles, not levyng her dische, pott, nother panne, " 
 and that she and her children and servants had 
 " stood in daily perell of their lyves, " until she went 
 up to London, leaving only a certain Lewis Griffyth 
 and an " impotent, power " almsman, eighty years 
 of age, to look after her interests at East Quantocks- 
 head. She professed, moreover, to have instructed her 
 
 ' D.C.M. II. 3. * Nicolas, Testamcnta Vetusta,p. 676. 
 
 - Inq. post mortem, E. II. 943, no. 5.
 
 136 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 agent to offer no resistance if Andrew Luttrell or any 
 one on his behalf should attempt to eject him from 
 the manor house. In such an event, she intended to 
 have her remedy at I^lw. A serious affray, however, 
 occurred in her absence. Two versions of it have 
 been preserved. 
 
 One of Andrew Luttrell's servants, John Gay by 
 name, complained to the King's Council that, on the 
 7th of June, I 52 1, Lewis GrifFyth and several other 
 evil-disposed persons assaulted him at East Quan- 
 tockshead, shot eleven arrows at him, one of which 
 pierced him through the left arm, while others 
 " grevosly strake hym in dyvers places of hys body, 
 so that and yff socoure of trees hadde nott byn, they 
 hadde kylled and murdered hym oute of hand." He 
 also said that he had received " a grette wonde in 
 the shilder " with a forest bill. 
 
 Griffyth's account of the matter is much more 
 detailed. He being in Quantock Park, "with his bowe 
 and his shaffes under his gyrdell, going abought to 
 recover a dere, being hurte, in a place called Blakwell," 
 met Gay and two other men. Gay was armed with " a 
 longe peked staff " seven feet long, and his compan- 
 ions carried great axes. They said that they had 
 come, by command of their master, to take sixty 
 trees for posts, but he told them that this could not 
 be done without warrant from Dame Walthean, who 
 held the manor for her life. Furthermore, he, " to 
 fere the said John Gay and his felowes, shot an 
 arrowe wyde of them. " When Gay asked him " to 
 holde his hand, " he " took his cap in his hand and 
 desyered and tenderly prayed them to departe. 
 This they did, but they " wente into a place withyn 
 the said towne and there harnyssed them, and called 
 to them two idell persons, " and so returned, " two
 
 ARMS OF SIR ANDREW LUTTRELL 
 
 ON THE LUTTRELL CARPET, 
 
 COTEHELE.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 137 
 
 of them havyng forest billes, the said Gay havyng the 
 said longe pyked staff, a hanger and a shorte dager, 
 and the residewe of them havyng grete axes in their 
 hands. " By hewing " an olde lying tree " within sound 
 of the manor-house, they made Griffyth believe that 
 they were felling trees, and when he came out, they 
 attacked him and " a chylde " of sixteen who was with 
 him. Gay may have been hurt in the fight, but Grif- 
 fyth was knocked down and injured with a forest bill 
 on the head and hand. Finally he and the boy were 
 taken three miles to the house of Lord Fitzwarren, 
 who caused them to be " fetered " and put for two 
 hours or more in his porter's lodge, whence they were 
 released only on payment of a fee to the porter. ^ 
 
 It is impossible to say whether Gay's version or 
 GrifFyth's was the more truthful. 
 
 Andrew Luttrell was knighted in or before i 527. ^ 
 He was appointed Sheriff of Somerset and Dorset in 
 November 1528."* Some five years later, he was a 
 servitor at the coronation of Anne Boleyn. * There 
 is a somewhat mysterious letter from him to Thomas 
 Cromwell dated at Dunster on the i6th of July 
 
 1537 '— 
 
 " Acordyng [to the] request made unto me by your late 
 letters yn the favowr of Mens. Pynto for the transportyng 
 of a sertyn lady owt of Portyngale hither, I have, as muche 
 as yn me ys, furnysshyd your sayd desyre, in suche sorte 
 that she ys here aryvyd yn safete wyth her gooddes, wyche 
 is extemyd to be of noo small summe. Nevertheles, for as 
 myche that y have percevyd, as well by conveans of her 
 sayd goodes by nyght, as also the receyving of her person 
 and company certyng dystance from the common porte that 
 y was apoynted to, that suche secrett thyngkes wrought yn 
 
 ' star Chamber Proceedings, vol. xvi. ^ List of Sheriffs, p. 124.; D.C.M. 
 
 ff. 20-22. xxxvii. 21. 
 
 * Somerset Medieval Wills, vol. ii. * Letters and Papers, Henry VII J . 
 
 p. 264. vol. vi. no. 562.
 
 138 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 her sayd conveance, that nether my shipe nor maryners 
 herafter can use there trade of merchandise thither without 
 danger, etc. 
 
 He therefore asks for the powerful minister's advice 
 and assistance " yfF any trobell shall chanyce unto me 
 or myne. " ^ Some explanation of the letter may be 
 found in the fact that Henry the Eighth was neutral 
 in the war between Charles the Fifth and Francis the 
 First. A few weeks later, another Portuguese lady 
 of rank and wealth, wishing to go to Flanders, thought 
 it prudent to sail in the first instance to an English 
 port, thus avoiding the northern coast of France. She 
 too had the assistance of the same Pinto, a Portuguese 
 merchant. ^ 
 
 Sir Andrew Luttrell obtained some spiritual benefits 
 by sanctioning an arrangement under which the 
 impoverished Priory of Flitcham, in Norfolk, in 
 which he had some hereditary rights, should be 
 definitely united to the mother house of Walsingham. 
 The Prior and Convent of the larger and more famous 
 establishment, in 1530, admitted him and his wife to 
 their fraternity, making them partakers in all their 
 prayers. They undertook to provide an anniversary 
 mass for their souls after death, and to maintain a 
 canon who should celebrate daily on their behalf at 
 Flitcham. Lastly, they promised to supply them with 
 board and lodging for two days and nights every year 
 if they should wish to go to Walsingham, a noted 
 place for pilgrimages. ^ 
 
 In a will dated the 14th of April 1538, Sir 
 Andrew Luttrell describes himself as ' of the parish of 
 East Quantock, ' the manor-house there being his 
 usual residence. He also directed that his body 
 
 * Letters and Pafers, Henry VIII. ^ Ibid. nos. 520, 757. 
 
 vol. xii. no. 265. ^ D.C.M. xxxvii. 20, 22.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 139 
 
 should be buried in the chancel of the church there, 
 before the picture of Our Lady at the north end of 
 the high altar, under the tomb and window to be 
 made there. To the church he bequeathed 5/. for 
 the purchase of a chalice, and to the high altar 20s. 
 for tithes overlooked. He also left 20s. to the mother 
 church of St. Andrew at Wells, and 40J. to the 
 Carthusians in London for two solemn obits with two 
 dirges. The Friars Minors of Bridgewater were to 
 receive 20s. a year for three years for solemn obits for 
 his soul,the souls of his parents and the soul of a certain 
 Hugh Trot. Thirty masses were to be said by as many 
 priests on the day of his burial, and money was to be 
 distributed to the poor on that occasion and on its 
 first anniversary. For a whole year, moreover, five 
 priests were to sing mass daily for his soul, with 
 special prayers on Wednesdays and Fridays, each 
 priest being paid 61. 1 3J-. 4^. yearly and provided 
 with the necessary singing-bread, wine, candles, vest- 
 ments and books. 
 
 The part of Sir Andrew Luttrell's will dealing 
 with secular matters specifies legacies to a godson and 
 to household servants. A silver cup was bequeathed 
 to the all-powerful minister, Thomas, Lord Cromwell, 
 so that he should be " good lord " to the testator's 
 wife and children. To his eldest son, John Luttrell, 
 he left all his raiment and his bows and arrows, and 
 to his wife. Lady Margaret, all the rest of his goods, 
 upon condition that she should surrender them if she 
 should marry again. Each of his younger children 
 was to have a fortune of 400 marks, the sons at the 
 age of twenty-one and the daughters at eighteen. ^ 
 
 Sir Andrew Luttrell died a few weeks after the 
 
 Somerset Medieval Wills (ed. Weaver), vol. iii. pp. 41,42.
 
 I40 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 date of his will and was buried at East Quantocks- 
 head. ' The tomb erected there in compliance with 
 his instructions has an arched recess, with late Gothic 
 cresting and panelling. On the lower part there are 
 three shields : — Luttrell ; Luttrell impaling Hill ; 
 and Luttrell impaling Wyndham. There are no 
 effigies on it and the slab has an inscription : — 
 
 '*j0m fugt Jgug;^ ULutivdf U^^^i w^^t be|>artgb 1522 
 t^e fgrst bag of S^Bruarg* 
 
 J^ere fiit ®^nbro B^uttteff ftngg^t ^ie 6one wg^e be^Jdrtgb 
 t^e gere of on?r forb (Bob mcccccxxxviijf t^t ixi) bag of 
 (gtag. On w^ogB BoufgB 3?u ^<^t)e mercg* ** 
 
 The letters are badly cut and the year of Sir Hugh 
 Luttrell's death is given incorrectly. ^ 
 
 Dame Margaret Luttrell lived to a great age, sur- 
 viving her husband by more than forty years. In 
 1543, she was registered as the owner of a ship of 
 100 tons belonging to the port of Minehead, but at 
 that time in London.^ Having a considerable joint- 
 ure, she was a powerful personage. As will be seen 
 hereafter, she invested some of her savings in the 
 purchase of the Priory of Dunster, after the dissolution 
 of the monasteries, thereby consolidating the property 
 of her successors. At her death in 1580, she was 
 buried beside her husband and her father-in-law at 
 East Quantockshead. * 
 
 Sir Andrew Luttrell left issue four sons and four 
 
 daughters : — 
 John, his heir. 
 
 ' Inq. post mortem, E. H. i78,no.i6. * 1580, July 7. " Died the right wor- 
 * It isclearfrom the inquisition taken shipful Dame Margaret Luttrell and 
 after the death of Sir Hugh that he died was buried the 8th of August follow- 
 in 1520/1, not 1521/2. ing." East Quantockshead Register at 
 
 » Letters ami Papers, Henry VIII. Dunster Castle, 
 vol. xviii, part i, no. 547.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 141 
 
 Thomas, successor to his brother. 
 
 Nicholas, of Honibere, ancestor of the Luttrells of 
 Hartland Abbey in Devonshire, and of the Luttrells 
 of Saunton Court in the same county. ^ 
 
 Andrew, named in the will of his brother. Sir John. 
 
 Margaret. She married Peter Edgcumbe of Mount 
 Edgcumbe in Devonshire, who died in 1 607. ^ As 
 executors and residuary legatees under the will of 
 her mother, they had long suits in Chancery 
 against George Luttrell of Dunster Castle. ^ It 
 was to Margaret Edgcumbe that Dame Margaret 
 Luttrell specifically bequeathed her best and largest 
 carpet, the magnificent example of heraldic em- 
 broidery which now hangs at Cothele. ^ 
 
 Honor. She married Edward Barrow, at East Quan- 
 tockshead on the 26th of January 1561. 
 
 Cecily. She married Richard Rogers of Bryanston, 
 in Dorset, who was knighted some years after her 
 death, which occurred in 1566.^ 
 
 Elizabeth. She married firstly Richard Malet of 
 Currypool in Charlinch. After his death in 155 i, 
 she married secondly Sir George Speke, K.B. of 
 Whitelackington, and died in or before 1561." 
 
 John Luttrell, eldest son and heir of Sir Andrew, 
 was under age at the time of his father's death. 
 Cromwell, not forgetful of the silver cup, at once took 
 him under his protection, and his name was entered 
 in a list of gentlemen suitable to be taken into the 
 King's service. ^ He was of course a ward of the 
 Crown, and, in June 1540, on the fall of his former 
 
 1 See Appendix. ■* See Appendix. 
 
 - The curious epitaph of Peter Edg- ^ D.C.M. xxxviii. 78. 
 
 cumbe at Maker is given in CoUins's * Somerset Medieval fVills (ed. 
 
 Peerage, vol. v. p. 329. Weaver), vol. iii. p. 130. 
 
 ' Chancery Proceedings, Ee. 2. no. 49; ''Letters and Papers, Henry VUl. 
 
 Ee. 5. no. 6. vol. xiii. part ii. no. 1184.
 
 142 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 patron, his wardship and marriage were given, or sold, 
 to Sir William Kingston. ^ Thirteen months later, 
 he received livery of his lands on attaining his major- 
 ity.^ Subject to the life interest of his mother. Dame 
 Margaret, the manor of East Quantockshead was, in 
 1543, settled on him and Mary his wife, who was a 
 daughter of Sir Griffith Ryce. ^ A further settlement 
 of the manor and borough of Dunster, the manors of 
 Kilton and Chilton Luttrell, and various lands, was 
 made on them in the following year. * From this 
 time forward, John Luttrell was seldom at home. On 
 Sunday the i ith of May 1544, immediately after the 
 capture and burning of Edinburgh, he was knighted 
 at Leith, by the Earl of Hertford, the English King's 
 Lieutenant in Scotland. ^ In the later part of the 
 same year, he was at Boulogne, in command of over 
 two hundred men. ^ 
 
 In 1547, John Luttrell was again in Scotland, 
 serving under his former leader, who had been ad- 
 vanced to the dignity of Duke of Somerset, and he 
 led three hundred men in the vanguard of the English 
 army at the battle of Pinkie. A week later, he was 
 placed in command of the little island of Inchcolm, 
 situated in the estuary of the Forth, some two miles 
 from Aberdour and six from Leith. The Augustinian 
 canons who inhabited it had evacuated it, removing 
 apparently to Donisbristle. A contemporary chron- 
 icler waxes facetious over the substitution of soldiers 
 for men of religion : — 
 
 " Sir John Luttrell, knight, having bene, by my Lordes 
 grace and the counsell, elect abbot, by God's sufferance, of 
 the monastery of Sainct Coomes Ins afore remembered, in 
 
 ' Patent Roll, 32 Hen. VHI. part i. < Ibid. 35 Hen. VHI. part 18, m. 8. 
 
 '"• 22- 5 Letters and Papers, Henry VIII. 
 
 ^ Ibid. 33 Hen. VHI. part 3, m. 23. vol. xix. part i. no. 531. 
 
 I hid. 34 Hen. VHI. part g. in. 31. « Ibid, part 2, no. 799.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 143 
 
 the afternoon of this day (Saturday, 17th September) depart- 
 ed towards the island, to be stalled in his see thear accord- 
 ingly ; and had with him coovent of 100 hakbutters and 50 
 pioneers to kepe his house and land thear, and 2 rowe barkes 
 well furnished with ammunicion, and 70 mariners for them 
 to kepe his waters ; whereby it is thought he shall soon 
 becum a prelate of great power. The perfytness of his 
 religion is not alwaies to tarry at home, but sumtime to rowe 
 out abrode a visitacion, and, when he goithe, I have heard 
 say, he taketh alweyes his sumners ^ in barke with hym, 
 which are very open mouthed and never talk but they are 
 heard a mile of; so that either for loove of his blessynges or 
 fear of his cursinges, he is like to be the souveraigne over 
 most part of his neighbours. " ^ 
 
 In point of fact, the garrison established in the old 
 abbey of Inchcolm soon became a cause of anxiety to 
 the English commanders. Instead of being able to 
 control the navigation of the Western Forth, Sir John 
 Luttrell w^as for a time invested by a leaguer of 
 Scottish ships and boats, under an abbot and James 
 Dogge, who were sanguine of capturing the rock. ^ 
 Although no assault was actually made, he found 
 himself almost powerless in the face of two men of 
 war, one of them of 80 tons burden. Having sent 
 the Sucre to England, to procure timber, coal, and 
 other necessaries, he had only the Double Rose, which 
 was " lytell and open. " " Ther ys nothinge, " he 
 writes on the 2nd of November, " thatt grevys me 
 so myche as that I cannott have on suyche shyppe, 
 
 wythe my pynnays, as the Wyllyby ys wyche yf I 
 
 had had, the prisys that I have lost wold have paid 
 ther chargys for 4 or 5 monythys. " ^ 
 
 ' Summonersor apparitors were offi- 93, gives an account of Inchcolm, with 
 
 cers of courts of law. The allusion is, three illustrations, 
 
 of course, to pieces of artillery. ' State Papers, Scotland, Edw. VI. 
 
 ^ Patten's Expedition into Scotland vol. ii. no. 5. 
 
 of Edward, Duke of Somerset. Dick- * Ibid. no. 27. 
 son's Emeralds chased in Gold, pp. 37-
 
 144 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 In another letter of the same date, he describes to 
 the Protector Somerset his attempt to take a French 
 ship " of 2 toppys " that had failed to get into harbour 
 at low tide. The pinnace from Inchcolm " bett herr 
 wyth herr artyllerye and shotte so often thoroghe and 
 alongeshypp of the Frenche menne that they gave 
 greate cryes wythynn borde and ranne herr ashore 
 agaynst the chapyl att Lythe, where the pynnys bett 
 herr still thorow wythyn poynte blancke, and had 
 broft herr awaye yf hitt hadd nott bynne for the 
 number of botys that laye under the Frenche mannys 
 foreship. " The Scots then mounted on the shore 
 two pieces of brass and ten large iron pieces of artillery, 
 and so drove off the pinnace and her boat. The ship 
 was towed into harbour at high tide, to the great 
 disappointment of the captain of Inchcolm, who be- 
 lieved her to be laden with wine and other commodi- 
 ties for the Governor of Leith. ^ 
 
 One of Sir John Luttrell's great difficulties was the 
 want of fuel. " I am, " he writes, " macchyd wythe 
 suyche stobborne neyhbors that yf I be a colde, they 
 gyve me leve [to] blowe my fyngers, whose gentylnes, 
 as I maye, I shall ryght well accquytt, and the better 
 whenseover hitt shall please the Concell tapoynt me 
 wherwytheall." ^ In another letter, he says : — " I 
 have bynne dryvenn to burne too botys, to cutt downe 
 and burne 2 or thre lytell treys thatt grew aboute the 
 howse, and yett yn thend have benn fayne to goo to 
 the Fyfe syde to scyrmyshe wythe them for to gett 
 owte some of theyr botes to burne, wher I have lost 
 2 of my menn. " 
 
 On the arrival of an English ship, the Scots with- 
 drew, and Sir John Luttrell sent away all the pioneers, 
 
 ' S. p. Scotland, Edw. VI. vol. ii. ' Ibid.no. 27. 
 
 no. 28.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 145 
 
 keeping only a few artificers to make doors, iron work 
 and walls to support platforms, and some very 
 " simple " soldiers. * 
 
 In November, Lord Grey of Wilton ordered the 
 master of ordnance at Newcastle to send certain spe- 
 cified munitions to Inchcolm, but some of them got 
 lost, and an inventory of the arms on the island des- 
 cribes an iron culverin as "broken at the mouth," and 
 a demi-culverin as "full of honycombes and blow, " 
 so that "none dare shute it."^ At the end of the 
 month, the Council ordered that Sir John Luttrell 
 should be reinforced and supplied with necessaries, but 
 that he should be told to use the Double Rose for the 
 time, to fortify the western part of the island, and to 
 economize his powder. ^ It was considered very 
 doubtful whether, in the winter, provisions could be 
 conveyed from the Tay to Inchcolm more than once 
 a month. * 
 
 On the 8th of January 1548, Lord Grey wrote as 
 follows to the Duke of Somerset, from Wark worth : — 
 
 " It male please your Grace. It hath bene by dyvers 
 showed unto me of the forwardnes of service of Sir John 
 Luttrell. And having this present daie receyved from hym 
 intelligence of his proceedinges in those parties, I thought 
 good to signefie thereof to your Grace, whereby the same 
 maie perceyve howe willingly he escueth idelnes, and dayly 
 studdyeth for thannoyance of his yll neighbours. 
 
 " Fyrst, he wryteth howe before Crystmasse, he sent a 
 lytle boote he hath, wiche roweth with six cores, unto the 
 north ferry, in the nyght, where he tooke the ferrie boote 
 harde from the towne, wiche boote wyll lande well 80 men. 
 
 " He wryteth also howe twoo daies before Crysmasse, 
 he landyd at Aberdoorie, skyrmyshed with them and burnt 
 
 » S. P. Scotland, Edw. VI. vol. ii. ^ Ibid. no. 49. 
 
 no. 28. '' Ibid. no. 67 (iii). 
 
 - Ibid. nos. 45, 51.
 
 146 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 a house harde at the townes ende ; but the contrey came so 
 faste upon them that they war compelled to retyer. 
 
 " On Crysmasse dale in the nyght, he gave them a 
 camysado ' at the north ferrye, and burnt all the towne, but 
 most parte of the men fled, and for hast lefte there geldinges 
 behinde, whiche war slayne and burnt in a house they thought 
 to kepe. 
 
 " The thirde daie after Christmasse, he landyd at Burnt 
 Ilande and brent certayne bootes in the pyer and all suche 
 howses as they had newe buylt there, where he had three 
 prowde onsettes gyven by the Skottes ; yet he repulsed 
 them, and at the same [time] slewe 1 6 of them and, as he 
 thinke, many hurte with shott ; after the wiche he went to 
 a castle that standeth on the weste parte of the ilande, and 
 out of the same there rendered unto hym a riche man and 
 his Sonne who dwelled in it, and hath brought them both 
 with hym, and had the hoole spoyll of the house, and so 
 retorned and mett with one hundreth freshe Skottes wiche 
 cam from Kynghorne, thinking to have putt our men from 
 there bootes, but they safely embarked and with there shott 
 hurte and slewe dyvers of the Skottes ; and of our men 
 twoo hurte. " ^ 
 
 One may wonder that it was thought worth while 
 to trouble the Protector with such petty details, but 
 they are of some interest as illustrations of the 
 manner in which the English were trying to subdue 
 the Scots. Thomas Wyndham, Sir John Luttrell's 
 half-uncle, distinguished himself by burning a con- 
 vent, and bringing away the nuns and the gentlemen's 
 daughters who were at school there. ^ 
 
 Various provisions were thrown into Inchcolm in 
 the winter, but, in February 1548, it was resolved to 
 evacuate the place, and the garrison had a stormy 
 voyage thence to Broughty Craig on board the Mary 
 Hamborough. * 
 
 ' Camisado, an attack in one's shirt, no. 5. 
 i.e. a night attack. New English Diet- ^ Ibid. no. 2. 
 
 ionarv, vol. ii. i Ibid. vol. ii. nos. 57, 65 ; vol. Hi. 
 
 ' S. P. Scotland, Edw. VI. vol. iii. nos. 10, 69.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 147 
 
 On the 6th of March, Sir John Luttrell writes to 
 the Duke of Somerset : — 
 
 " Accordinge unto your plesure by yowr late letters 
 adresyd, 1 have ruynatyd the fortyfycatyonne off Combys 
 Ynche and the howse ther bothe in suyche sorte as thenymye 
 shall by the same nether receyve comodyte ner force ; and 
 frome thence aryvyd yn thys ryver off Taye the fyrst of 
 Marche, wythe suyche munytyon, vytayle, planke and 
 tymber as I myght thenn transporte, havynge so lytell stoage 
 for the same, for wher the vyz admirall here hadd apoyntyd 
 certeyne plates or hoyes unto me for to shyppe the same, 
 on of the gretyst burdyn of thos toke another course ynto 
 sume part of Ynglonde, by reason wherof I was enforcyd 
 as well to burne suyche tymber and planke as I was ther 
 dryvyne to leve, and a portyon of byscet, cheyse and here, 
 wyche yndede was suyche and so yll as no manne myght 
 occupye. " ^ 
 
 He was destined for the command of Dundee, but 
 on going there with Sir Thomas Palmer, he found 
 that it would not be practicable to make such a 
 citadel as would dominate the town. Accordingly, 
 he was put in charge of a new fort on a hill near 
 Broughty Craig. In writing on the subject to the 
 Duke of Somerset, he describes himself " as on that 
 nether have respecte to placys nor what paynys I take 
 in cacys wher I do the Kinges majeste servys and 
 content your Grace. " ^ Two days later, he says — "I 
 truste I shall employe myselfe so yn settyng forwarde 
 of the workes as shalbe to your Gracys contentatyonne, 
 not dowting butt that I shall yelde a good accompt 
 of the same, yf famyn do not more hurt thenne feare 
 of other attemptes. " ^ 
 
 On the iith of April, he writes to Sir Thomas 
 Holcroft and Sir Francis Leake, asking for supplies 
 
 ' S. p. Scotland, Edw. VI. vol. iii. ^ Ibid. vol. v. no. 3 (misplaced). 
 
 no. 68. ' Ibid. no. 5 (misplaced).
 
 148 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 of biscuit, beer, butter, horses, carts, masons and 
 money. ' On the last day of the month, he pours 
 forth his grievances to the Protector : — 
 
 " Wheras hytt aperyd unto me by yowr Gracys letters 
 addressyd unto me by my brother and beringe date the 22 
 of Februarye thatt artyffycers were comandyd hyther att 
 that present, may hytt pleas your Grace to understand ther 
 ys nott one aryvyd here as yett, besyde the want of whome 
 the gretyst laccke of all ys nott as yett suplyed, wyche ys of 
 vyttallys, spetyallye of byscett and drinke, I meane suyche 
 proportyone as ys requysit for a somer's store, and, sondrye 
 wyndes bringe overslypt, ther ys yett no hope of their aryvall 
 herr untyll the last howre, and thenn how the wynd and 
 passage shall prove yowr Grace know ys dowtfull. 
 
 " I cannot butt jugge a great fawt yn yowr Gracys mynes- 
 ters and comysyoners of the northe part, wheryn yf remedye 
 be no hadd, all my travaylle here maye lytell suffyce. " 
 
 " Whatt commodyte is ther fownde yn the raysynge of the 
 bulwerkes here and turfynge of the same, whenn, for the 
 laccke of a few masons and nessessarys for them, the same 
 fallys dayle downe and fyllys the dykes agayne, as even 
 presently the ester part of the northe est bullwerke ys fallyn 
 downe, with suyche abundance of yerthe that the powre of 
 a hundrythe cannons could nott make a more perillus 
 breache ? " 
 
 " The powre soldyers here ar enforcyd to suyche a nyght- 
 lye wacche and dayle travayll withall as I darr saye yn tyme 
 of seyge ytt canne be no whytt greater, by reasone wherof 
 they tall dayle syccke, so as att thys present there ys yn the 
 fort and castell welner a hundrythe syccke and not able to 
 
 come unto the wallys Consyder the travayle of the powre 
 
 menn havinge nothinge butt salt meates. " 
 
 " As for my part, yf hytt wolde pleas yowr Grace tapoynt 
 a manne of suyche dyscretion as yow myght better trust, I 
 wolde rather trayle the pyke agayne as a soldyer under hyme 
 then havinge charge and wantynge credytt. " 
 
 " Besyde the lose of fortyfynge for laccke wherwithall, I 
 canne neyther have powder, ledd, nor any other want sup- 
 
 ' S. p. Scotland, Edw. VI. vol. iv. no. 7.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 149 
 
 plyed thatt I have wryttenn for. As for herkebusys, here ys 
 not thre able to serve nor one thatt wylbe sent. " 
 
 " Macche the powre menn have benne enforcyd to make 
 of ther shyrtes, welnere thys 3 monythys, and not yett sent. 
 Monytyone also for fyar worke nor cresset lyght I canne 
 gett none, to se the dykes cleryd yn the nyght, werbye the 
 Scottys come nyghtly ynto my dykes. " 
 
 " I am suar yi yowr Grace knew how the powre soldyers 
 here ar dyscoragyd with ther aforsayd travayle and myserye, 
 yow wold bothe of yowr pryncelye goodnes pyte them, and 
 dowt the ynconvenyence thatt may folowe of hytt. Thaye 
 saye they have servyd 18 monythes and never hadd 
 throghe paye, which ys a great tyme. I am, yowr Grace 
 knowys, butt one manne amonges them, and nottwith- 
 standinge thatt I have and do kepe them yn suyche awe and 
 obedyence thatt thaye darr nott utter ther seccrett murmur- 
 inges, I am fayne to seme nott to hyar all, and, havinge 
 myselfe the same want thay have, they ar content to take 
 lyke paynys with me, for ther purse and table ys bothe fur- 
 nyshyd as myne ys, and bycawse they se I am also partaker of 
 ther wacche and travayle, thay do the lesse complayne. " 
 
 " I wold wyshe yowr Grace shuld send rather att the fyrst 
 200 menne to myche thenn so many to few. I juge 400 
 handsome soldyers, and all haccbuters were with the lest, 
 besyde on hundrythe masons, wherof 50 quaryers, and good 
 store of pycckaxys, with style and ashe ynoghe for helvys 
 (handles), all manner of other monytyon lykewyse, as barows, 
 bascekettes, crowys and 2 able fornyshed cartes with horsys, 
 att the last 2 or thre hoyes also laden with strawe, with 
 wyche I wyll rayse the utter part of the worke att lest 
 
 5 fote The Scottes and Frenchemenne here determyne 
 
 to take hytt owt of hande. " 
 
 " Thabbott of Pasle came hyther with 2 anseynys of 
 Frenchemenn frome Jedworthe to scale the forte, and broght 
 with hyme all hys adherentes off Fyfe, so thatt, as 1 exteme, 
 with Frenche and Scottys, they were 2 thowsand fotemenn and 
 500 horse, which thaye preparyd to kepe the pasage betwyne 
 the fort and the castell, to thend thatt whenn the powder here 
 shuld have benne brent, ther myght no freshe relyfe be hadd 
 from benethe. Whenn the howre apoyntyd came, I had
 
 1 50 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 preparyd 2 demy barrelles of powder, wich I fyryd yn the 
 dyke, with wich the Scottys gave a sodenne showte ; butt 
 whenn they should have come to the sawt (assault), as farr 
 as we withyn myght understand, thaye begann to stryve who 
 shuld come fyrst, and nott beinge agreyd therapponne thay 
 thoght hytt better to retyre agayne with wett cotes thenn to 
 cleme wallys, and so retyryd ; my lorde of Dunkelles lorde- 
 shipp being myche ashamyd hys empryse (enterprise) toke 
 no better succes. And yn dede I sent hyme suyche a 
 moccke the same mornynge by my drome to Dunde thatt hys 
 sprytuall patyence was myche ofendyd withall. " ^ 
 
 On the 20th of June, Sir John Luttrell wrote to the 
 Protector in much better spirits, having been abund- 
 antly furnished w^ith victuals for the fort and for the 
 castle alike. Although the supply of drink was not 
 altogether satisfactory, he was able to husband it, 
 having abundance of good water. Sixteen galleys 
 and " a bryggandyn, havinge a lytell Scottyshe bote 
 for ther gyde " had recently anchored off the coast of 
 Fife, and he had greeted them with " the fyrst salve, 
 wyche the lykyd so yll " that they withdrew. He 
 had been daily " attendyd " by 500 or 600 horsemen 
 and such footmen as the neighbourhood could supply, 
 but he had given them such " playe " that they would 
 not come within a mile of the fort, whence he could 
 not be provoked to sally forth to skirmish with 
 them. He had turfed the new works so high that 
 they could not be approached without ladders, and he 
 had " platformyd " the castle towards the water, and 
 " vamuryd hitt with fayre lopys 6 fote thycke." The 
 fort must have been of some size, as two " plowys 
 and oxen" and eighteen horses that he had seized were 
 constantly employed in carrying turf. ^ 
 
 > S.P. Scotland, Edw. VI. vol. iv. ■ Ibid. no. 38. 
 
 no. 14.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 151 
 
 Lord Grey of Wilton was not so well satisfied, for 
 he wrote on the 25 th of the same month : — 
 
 " I have dyvers tymes requyred Sir John Luttrell that, in 
 the depeche of his souldiours or laborers, he wolde eyther 
 paie them throughly or sende me worde of the true debte 
 unto them, so as nether the poore may be enwronged, nor 
 the Kinges majestie further burdened then reason is, and yet 
 now agayne here is arryved 30 or 40 poore laborers, syckly 
 and weake, who saith they be not payd any one peny syns I 
 sent them thither, nor bring with them any pasporte or other 
 declaration of their due. " ^ 
 
 On the other hand the Protector highly commended 
 Sir John Luttrell's good service, and empowered him 
 to treat with the Earl of Argyll, who, it was thought, 
 might be tempted by promises of English gold. ^ 
 
 In the autumn of i 548, Luttrell had several sharp 
 skirmishes with Sir David Graham of Fintrie and 
 other neighbours, and killed a considerable number of 
 the soldiers and townsmen who were holding Dundee. 
 In one of his forays, he captured the eldest son and the 
 nephew of the laird of Panmure, ten hakbutters, more 
 than 700 " white beasts " and 1 20 " horned beasts. " ' 
 
 On the 7th of November, some English ships in the 
 Tay landed men at Dundee and, with assistance from 
 Sir John Luttrell, drove out the townsmen. As soon, 
 however, as the soldiers began to loot the place, James 
 Dogge fell upon them and drove them out in turn, 
 with a loss of thirty killed. The English recaptured 
 the town the next day, but abandoned it very shortly. * 
 
 On the 3rd of December, the Earl of Angus and 
 the Rhinegrave, with 50 lances and 200 light horse- 
 men, appeared before Broughty Craig, and Sir John 
 
 • S.P. Scotland, Edw. VI. vol. iv. Vhistoire de I'Ecosse, vol. i. p. 195. 
 
 no. 40. * S.P. Scotland, Edw. VI. vol. iv. 
 
 * Ibid. no. 45. , nos. 114, 115, 118. 
 2 Teulet, Papiers d'Etat relatifs a
 
 152 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 Luttrcll, " seeing that they sought some pastime, " 
 sallied out with thirty horse and some footmen. After 
 some skirmishing, the Rhinegrave retired and tried to 
 lead the English into an ambush. Luttrell had, how- 
 ever, foreseen such a scheme and had stationed some 
 signalmen in the fort, to watch the movements of the 
 enemy. Duly informed by them, he retired to a hill 
 and there gallantly defended himself against superior 
 numbers until reinforcements, hidden behind the hill, 
 came up. The enemy were thus caught in the trap 
 which they had prepared for him. Panic-stricken they 
 fled, and their leaders could not induce them to stop 
 until they were safe within the town of Dundee. 
 The pursuit would have been more effective if the 
 English captain had had more than thirty horsemen, 
 but nevertheless he had reason to be satisfied with 
 the day's work. A young French gentleman was 
 found dead on the field. Eighteen of the Germans 
 met their fate in the river Dighty and many more on 
 dry land. Sixteen of them and two Scots were taken 
 prisoners. Many, including the Rhinegrave himself, 
 were wounded. The details of this affair come, curi- 
 ously enough, from a Spanish source. ^ 
 
 The last of Sir John Luttrell's letters that has been 
 preserved is an urgent application for leave of absence, 
 written at Broughty on the 22nd of January 1549, 
 and addressed to the Duke of Somerset : — 
 
 " I have receyved, with the last convoye of victualles that 
 cam hether, a letter from my mother, wich I have sent yower 
 Grace enclosed herein, to thend that, seing the good offer 
 she hath made me for thadvauncement of my poore levyng, 
 it might the rather please yower Grace's pryncelye honour to 
 fordre me therin. Wich doing, I shall be the abler to serve 
 the Kynges majestie and yower Grace, as one that dowteth 
 
 ' Teulet, pp. 202-204.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 153 
 
 not to shewe myself so as yower Grace shall perseyve both 
 that and all the rest that I possesse shall be bent alwayes unto 
 his maister's servyce — so as it might please yower Grace to 
 serve hyr fanceye and my commodyte at thys tyme for my 
 commyng home presentlye. 
 
 " And because yower Grace shall the better perceyve the 
 offer that she hath made me, may it please yower Grace to 
 understand that the manor of Myniett (Minehead) that she 
 promyseth me, is 120/ by the yeere, besydes that hyr joynter 
 is almost 300 marke with hyr demeynes, as I gesse it, wich 
 wyll be, as yower Grace maye consydre, a great advauncement 
 of my poore levyng, besyde the helpe that I shall procure at 
 hyr handes, and my mother in lawes, for the payment of my 
 dettes, wich if I shold not take now when it is offred me, I 
 never loke to come unto it. For iff shee shold take a fancye 
 in hyr head to marrye, I were utterlye undone ! " 
 
 " Notwithstandyng my busynes with my mother, 1 wyll in 
 the meane tyme so furnyssh myselfe with horse and harnes 
 that, in the begyning of this somer, my trust is I wyll be in 
 as good order to serve yower Grace in the feld as no gentyl- 
 man, I trust, in all Ingland shall be better of my abyllyte 
 and power. 
 
 " Humblye desyryng yower Grace in the meane tyme to 
 heere my humble sute, for, besyde the goodnes of my mother 
 unto me, 1 have a great deale of monye to paye unto my 
 creditours, for whome I must provyde payment, or other- 
 wyse it wyll be more to my dyspleasure then I maye well 
 beare. " ^ 
 
 Dame Margaret Luttrell's letter, which w^as en- 
 closed in the preceding, has disappeared, but we may 
 fairly infer that she had offered to clear the manor of 
 Minehead of the charge which her husband, Sir 
 Andrew Luttrell, had made upon it for the benefit 
 of his younger children. ^ It seems clear that Sir 
 John Luttrell was not allowed to leave his post even 
 for a few months. He was trusted as a diplomatist 
 no less than as a soldier, and, in March 1549, he was 
 
 ' Hamilton Papers, vol. ii. p. 627. p. 42; D.C.M. xxix. 28. 
 
 ^ Somerset Medieval Wills, vol. iii.
 
 154 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 appointed one of the two English commissioners to 
 treat with the Earls of Argyll, Athol and Errol and 
 others, with a view to the expulsion of the French 
 from Scotland, and a marriage between Edward the 
 Sixth and Queen Mary.' The negotiation, how^ever, 
 came to nothing. ^ The last of Sir John Luttrell's 
 exploits seems to have been a raid in which he burned 
 several villages and took prisoner a certain Monsieur 
 de Toge, as recorded in the journal of the young 
 English King. ^ 
 
 In the early part of 1550, the Scots resolved to 
 make a serious attack upon Broughty Craig. Al- 
 though described as " behind the age both in the rais- 
 ing and the besieging of fortified places, " they were 
 encouraged and aided by their more experienced allies 
 from France. * The sequel may be given in the words 
 of a Scottish chronicler : — 
 
 " Monsieur de Thermes, with the assistance of the Gov- 
 ernour, quha accompaneit him in all his interprices, came 
 forduarte to the toune of Dundie in the beginning of 
 Fabruar ; quhair having prepared sic thingis as wes necessar 
 for the seiging of the fort, he laid the battre thairto apoun 
 the south eist pairt thairof, and cuttit away all moyens, pas- 
 sages and intelligences betuix the fort and the castell of 
 Broughtie, so the fort culd haif no kinde of ayd nor releyf 
 frome the sey ; and eftir the same was doung doun with 
 gret ordinance, the assailt was gevin thairto, baithe with the 
 Scottis and Frenche men the xx day of Fabruar ; quhair 
 the Inglismen maid resistance and defence at the first entering, 
 bot thay war so curageouslie and stoutlie assailyet that thai war 
 dung frome the wallis, and the most part of thame all quhilk 
 was within the fort war slayne, and the rest taikin presoners. 
 
 " The nixt day, the Inglismen quha kepit the castell of 
 Broughtie, fering the like to cum to thame, randerit the 
 
 ' S.P. Scotland, Edw. VI. vol. v. ^ Burnet's History of the Rcjormation. 
 
 nos. 12, 13. ^ Burton's History of Scotland, (ed. 
 
 * Calendar of State Papers, Scotland, 1897) vol. iii. p. 278. 
 ^547-Jj6j. p. xvi.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 155 
 
 castell, having onlie thair liffis saif. So that haill cuntrey 
 wes clenged of the Inglismen immediatlie. " ^ 
 
 The less circumstantial English chroniclers antedate 
 the fall of Broughty Craig by a couple of months, 
 and state that the Scots slew all its defenders except 
 Sir John Luttrell, whom they took prisoner. ^ This 
 is clearly an exaggeration, but there is no doubt that 
 the avenging Scots scandalized their foreign allies by 
 their unwillingness to give any quarter. ^ 
 
 The English government did not fail the captive 
 in his time of trouble. As early as the 5 th of March, 
 the Council at Westminster ordered the Warden of 
 the East and Middle Marches " to do what he can 
 for the delyvery of Mr. Luttrell, and, at his arryval, 
 to helpe him with money for his cummyng, which 
 shalbe repayed. " Two days later, they issued a war- 
 rant for no less than 400/. " for the raunsom of Mr. 
 Luttrell and others taken at Browghty Crag. " * 
 
 Furthermore, at the end of the same month, it was 
 resolved that three Gordons, who were hostages for 
 important Scotsmen, should be delivered to Thomas 
 Wyndham " to be by him conveyed to Sir John 
 Luttrell for his relief. " ^ Wyndham, it will be re- 
 membered, was Sir John's half-uncle. 
 
 The late captain of Broughty Craig was in due 
 course released from captivity, and, in June 1550, the 
 Council resolved : — 
 
 " That Sir John Luttrell, in consideration of the notable 
 good service he hath doone unto the Kinges Majistie during 
 all his warres, shall have landes to the value of 100 markes 
 by the yere during his Highnes pleasure. " '^ 
 
 ' Lesley's History of Scotland, p. 251. ii. pp. 406, 407. Knights were often 
 
 * HaywaTd'sLifcandrcigno/Edwai'd styled "Mr." in the sixteenth century. 
 VI. in Kennett's Complete History, vol. ^ Ibid. p. 421. 
 
 ii, p. 291; Stowe's ^«na/s, p. 601. ^ Ibid. vol. iii. p. 58; Patent Roll, 
 
 ^ Burton, p. 279. 4 Edw. VI. part 5 ; D.C.M. xxxvii. 27. 
 
 * Acts of the Privy Council, N.S. vol.
 
 156 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 Although defeated, he was in no sense disgraced, 
 and, later in the year, he extracted from the govern- 
 ment no less than 3,200/. for " the waiges of himself 
 and his souldiours in the Northe. " ' 
 
 There is at Dunster Castle a most interesting pic- 
 ture on panel commemorative of Sir John Luttrell's 
 rectitude and courage in adversity. It represents him 
 as half immersed in the sea, not far from a man-of-war 
 flying the red cross of St George, but in a desperate 
 condition, struck by lightning and in flames. He is 
 wading ashore, without any clothes except a large 
 scarf tied round his right arm which he holds upright, 
 with the fist clenched. A bracelet round the wrist of 
 this arm is inscribed : — " Nee Jiexit lucrum, '^SS'^'> " 
 while the corresponding bracelet on the left arm is 
 inscribed : — " Nee f regit discrimen. 
 
 In a cloud above is a group of female figures. The 
 largest of them, as naked as Sir John himself, is laying 
 her left hand on his outstretched arm, and holding in 
 the right a sprig of olive. The others hold respect- 
 ively a peacock, a breastplate, a helmet, a sword, 
 a purse, and a horse. On a rock below there is the 
 following inscription : — 
 
 " More the the rock amydys the raging seas, 
 The constat hert no dager dreddys nor fearys, 
 
 s. I. L." 
 
 Lower on the rock is the date " 1550 " and the 
 monogram of the painter " IE. " 
 
 This monogram, the allegorical character of the 
 picture, and the execution alike show it to be the 
 work of Lucas d'Heere. The date, however, presents 
 some difficulty, inasmuch as this artist is stated to have 
 been born at Ghent in 1534, so that he would have 
 
 ' Ads of the Privy Council, pp. io6, 135, 243.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 157 
 
 been only sixteen years of age in 1550. ^ An ingenious 
 theory that the date should read " 1558, " part of the 
 last figure having been obliterated, proves on examin- 
 ation altogether untenable.^ Sir John Luttrell was not 
 living in 1558 ; a replica of the picture at Badmon- 
 disfield Hall in Suffolk bears the earlier date ; and a 
 portrait by Lucas d'Heere of Thomas Wyndham, Sir 
 John Luttrell's half-uncle, at Longford Castle, is in- 
 scribed " ^TATis XLii. MDL. " It is possiblc that 
 both the pictures were painted by order of Dame 
 Margaret Luttrell some time after 1550, in order to 
 commemorate the valour displayed by her son and her 
 half-brother in the war of that year. On the whole, 
 however, it is far more probable that there is an error 
 as to the date of the birth of Lucas d'Heere, and that 
 he painted these companions in arms from life soon 
 after their return from Scotland in 1550. 
 
 Before very long, the picture at Dunster was slightly 
 altered by the addition of the head of a drowning man 
 and other minor accessories, with two Latin couplets 
 on the rock : — 
 
 " Effigiem renovare tuam^ fortisstme miles^ 
 Ingens me meritum fecit amorque tui^ 
 Nam nisi curasses heredem scrihere fratrem^ 
 Hei^ tua contigerant prcedia nulla mihi, 
 1591. G.L. " 
 
 The best translation ofthehnes yet offered runs : — 
 
 " Your great desert and my regard for you 
 Cause me, brave knight, your portrait to renew. 
 For had you not your brother made your heir, 
 None of your lands had fallen to my share. " 
 
 The initials of the restorer are those of George 
 Luttrell of Dunster Castle, nephew of Sir John. The 
 
 ' Van Mander, Le Livre clcs Peiiit- ' Mr. Lionel Cust, in Atcliaeologia, 
 
 res. vol. liv. p. 77.
 
 158 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 additions are not to be seen on the replica at Badmon- 
 disfield Hall, which must consequently be anterior to 
 I 591. It may have been painted for one of Sir John 
 Luttrell's daughters, but nothing is known about its 
 history. 
 
 Writing in the middle of the eighteenth century, 
 Thomas Palmer of Fairfield notices the portrait of Sir 
 John Luttrell at Dunster, and mentions a tradition then 
 current that it referred to his " having saved a certain 
 lady from drowning, whom he was then in love 
 with, and afterwards married. " ^ Later on, Collinson 
 quotes these words from the manuscript on which he 
 so largely relies, but suppresses the fact that Palmer 
 did not believe the story. ^ Lastly, Savage, accepting 
 it implicitly, makes matters even worse by saying that 
 the lady is represented as secured to the man's arm by 
 a handkerchief, and that a figure of victory " appears 
 as if ready to crown him with laurel. " ^ Victory, 
 forsooth, after the disaster at Broughty Craig ! Suffice 
 it to observe that the picture does not show any crown 
 of laurel, that the only drowning figure (added in 1591) 
 is that of a man with a large moustache, and that Sir 
 John Luttrell had been married some seven years 
 before the date inscribed. The romantic story and 
 the erroneous description of the picture are alike 
 characteristic of the period to which they belong. 
 
 After three centuries and a half, one cannot be cer- 
 tain of understanding every allusion in this allegorical 
 picture, and one may easily credit its author with 
 ideas that never passed through his brain. The gen- 
 eral meaning of it is, however, clear enough. It is 
 not necessary to suppose that Sir John Luttrell ever 
 sufi'ered actual shipwreck. The year 1550 witnesses 
 
 ' ^^IS. at St. Audiies. 3 Hisiory of the Hundred of Car- 
 
 ' History oj Somerset, vol. ii, p. 12. Hampton, p. 445.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 159 
 
 the wreck of the English cause in Scotland. Sir John 
 Luttrell, one of its chief representatives, is a prisoner, 
 denuded of all that he values most. He does not, 
 however, give way to unseemly grief. No offer of 
 lucre can turn him from his duty ; no danger can 
 break his lofty spirit. In a sea of misfortune he 
 stands erect. The rainbow of hope appears in the sky 
 and the darkest cloud shows a silver lining. The 
 goddess of peace takes him by the arm and holds forth 
 a sprig of olive symbolical of the treaty concluded 
 between England and Scotland. Behind her stand her 
 satellites, ready to restore to the hero all that he has 
 recently lost. ^ 
 
 If the letters ' S.I.L. ' stand for English words, they 
 may be taken to represent the name of the subject of 
 the portrait. Sir John Luttrell. If on the other hand 
 they stand for Latin words, an interpreter has a wide 
 field before him, sententia, simulacrum, somnium and 
 other nouns being possible extensions of the first letter. 
 
 Although Sir John Luttrell was often in want of 
 money wherewith to pay his soldiers, there is little 
 foundation for Collinson's statement that, being " ex- 
 tremely desirous of glory, " he " greatly wasted the 
 fair patrimony which descended to him from his 
 ancestors, selling great part of his demesnes at Dunster, 
 Kilton and elsewhere. " ^ A mortgage that he had 
 made of Minehead Park was, indeed, foreclosed by his 
 cousin Hugh Stewkley, a grasping lawyer, but Dame 
 Margaret Luttrell intended to pay it off, and Stewk- 
 ley was charged with behaving dishonestly in the 
 matter. ^ The property thus lost consisted of two 
 
 1 The peacock may perhaps be an the scarf had some definite meaning, 
 extended version of the Luttrell crest. ^ History of Somerset, vol ii. p. 12. 
 
 Dr. Warre thinks that it suggests the ^ Inq. post mortem, C. H. 106, no. 
 
 presence of Juno. He also sees a true 55; Chancery Proceedings, Series II, 
 
 lover's knot in the arrangement of the bundle 113, no. 76; D.C.M. xxi.x 37. 
 scarf. There can be little doubt that
 
 i6o A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 hundred acres of agricultural land which had ceased 
 to be maintained as a park in the time of Sir Andrew 
 Luttrell. • The name, however, still survives. 
 
 Kilton Park was, in 1553, merely a wood of about 
 a hundred acres " well sett with okes and yonge 
 ashes. " Dame Margaret Luttrell had at that time 
 the enjoyment of the park at East Quantockshead of 
 the same size, enclosed with a pale and containing 
 about a hundred deer. Marshwood Park, enclosed 
 partly by a ditch and hedge and partly by a pale, 
 comprised a hundred acres and maintained a hundred 
 deer. Thomas Wyndham already mentioned had a 
 lease of it for sixty years, at a nominal rent during 
 his own lifetime. The only park in Sir John Luttrell's 
 own hands was that below his castle, comprising 
 seventy-two acres, of which only twenty were in the 
 old manor of Dunster, Great Avelham and twelve acres 
 " on the sowest syde of the water " being reckoned as 
 part of the manor of Carhampton. Here there were 
 fifty deer and " dyvers great okes, elmes and ashes, " 
 which, if near together, would have occupied four 
 acres out of the twenty acres in the Hanger. ^ 
 
 Among the muniments at Dunster Castle there is a 
 small memorandum on parchment with regard to 
 swan-upping, as follows : — 
 
 " S-- John Lutterell. §2! ^^^Z "^ 
 
 " S"" Andrew Lutterell. 
 
 9 
 
 These were the markes which theise men above written had 
 upon the beeles of their swanes belonginge unto the Castell 
 
 ' Leland's Itincraiy, (1907) p. 166. - D.C.M. ill. 2; xix. 25; XX. 4, 6.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. i6i 
 
 of Dunster by inheritance and alwayes kepte at the Mere by 
 Glastonberrye. Yt is good to renewe yt. S. L. " ^ 
 
 Sir John Luttrell was not the sort of man who could 
 settle down quietly to the normal life of a country 
 squire. A camp was more to his liking, and, being 
 prevented by the peace from pursuing an active mil- 
 itary career, he determined to go abroad in search of 
 adventure. With this object, he combined with sev- 
 eral kindred spirits in organizing an expedition to 
 Morocco, professedly for the development of com- 
 merce. The leader of it was to be his half-uncle 
 Thomas Wyndham, a brave and experienced sailor, 
 but an incorrigible pirate. When, however, the ship 
 sailed from Portsmouth, Sir John Luttrell was not on 
 board. ^ The month of July 1 5 5 1 was miserable on 
 account of the sweating sickness. 
 
 " The sufferers were in general men between thirty and 
 forty, and the stoutest and healthiest most readily caught the 
 infection. The symptoms were a sudden perspiration, ac- 
 companied with faintness and drowsiness. Those who were 
 taken with full stomachs died immediately. Those who 
 caught cold shivered into dissolution in a few hours. Those 
 who yielded to the intense temptation of sleep, though but 
 for a quarter of an hour, woke only to die. " ^ 
 
 One of the earliest and most distinguished victims 
 of this terrible pestilence was Sir John Luttrell, who 
 succumbed to it at Greenwich on the loth of July. 
 A Londoner who records his death describes him as 
 " a nobull captayne. " * He was about thirty-one 
 years of age. A few days only before the death of Sir 
 John Luttrell, certain commissioners had been empow- 
 ered by the King to pronounce a divorce between him 
 
 ' D.C.M. XXXVII. 24. vol. V. p. 353. 
 
 * Hakluyt's Fojn^es, n. ii, 7-11; D/c^ * Machyn's Diary, p. 7; Camden 
 
 of National Biography, vol. Ixiii. p. 249. Miscellany, vol. x. part 2, p. 73. 
 ^ Froude's History of England (1867).
 
 i62 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 and his wife, upon proof of her adultery. ^ This lady 
 afterwards married James Godolphin of Gwinear, in 
 Cornwall. Inasmuch as she was a legatee under the 
 will of her mother-in-law, Dame Margaret Luttrell, 
 we may fairly presume that the charges against her 
 had not been established. ^ By an arrangement re- 
 pugnant to feudal ideas, the Castle of Dunster, which 
 was the head-place of the Honour of that name, formed 
 part of her dower or jointure. ^ She had some house- 
 hold goods there in 1553, which had belonged to her 
 father, Sir Griffith Ryce, but she afterwards went to 
 live at Kilton. * She continued to bear the surname 
 of her first husband until her death, and she was 
 buried among the Luttrells at East Quantockshead on 
 the last day of March 1588. 
 
 Sir John Luttrell left issue three daughters, Cather- 
 ine, Dorothy and Mary, who, being minors at the time 
 of his death, became wards of the Crown : — ^ 
 
 Catherine was aged fourteen. Under the will of her 
 maternal grandmother. Dame Catherine Edgcumbe, 
 she received a chain of gold with a flower set with 
 two diamonds and a ruby. *" In July 1558, she 
 married Thomas Copley of Gatton, in Surrey. 
 There is a curious letter of that date from him to 
 the Master of the Revels asking for the loan of a 
 mask for the wedding which was to take place at 
 Nonsuch, and which he affected to deplore. ' A 
 tradition in his family, however, says that he had 
 been so attracted by the beauty of Catherine Luttrell 
 
 ' Strype's Ecclesiastical Memorials, p. 149. 
 
 vol. ii, part ii, p. 204. * jnq. post mortem, C. II. 106. no. 
 
 ■■* Brown's Somersetshire Wills, vol. 55; E. II. 943, no. 5; D.C.M. 11. 12, 14. 
 
 vi. p. 15. fi Somerset Medieval Wills, vol. iii. p. 
 
 ^ Inq. postmortem. C. II. 159, no. 43; 149. 
 
 D.C.M. II. 14, 17. " Loseley Manuscripts (ed. Kempe), 
 
 * Somerset Medieval Wills, vol. iii. p. 59.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 163 
 
 that he refused the hand of a daughter of Lord 
 Howard of Effingham, who consequently became 
 his enemy. ^ 
 
 Catherine Copley had a chequered career. Her hus- 
 band was rich and highly connected. He sat in 
 several Parliaments, and the Queen herself stood 
 godmother to their eldest son in 1561.^ Some two 
 years later, however, he became a Roman Catholic. 
 After being fined and imprisoned in 1568, he very 
 imprudently went abroad without licence, in the 
 early part of 1570. The government accordingly 
 seized his goods and confiscated most of his rents, 
 and, although his wife was allowed to return to 
 England for a while, he remained in exile until his 
 death at Antwerp in 1 584. Having been knighted 
 and created a baron by the French King, he chose 
 to style himself ' Sir Thomas Copley, knight, Lord 
 Copley of Gatton, ' and he also set up an untenable 
 claim to the English baronies of Welles and Hoo. ^ 
 After the death of her husband,Lady Copley returned 
 to England and proved his will. As part of her 
 jointure, she had the right of nominating the two 
 members for the little constituency of Gatton. * 
 She is described as very "simple" and unfit to meddle 
 with politics, but, being a noted " bigot " she was 
 regarded with suspicion, and was committed to 
 prison once if not twice in her later years. ^ She 
 was living in 1603. ^ 
 
 * Morris, Troubles of our Catholic N. s. vol. xv. p. 179. 
 
 Forefathers, vol. i. p. 51. ® Nearly all that is known about Sir 
 
 ^ Nichols's Progresses of Queen Eliz- Thomas Copley, his wife, and his 
 
 abeth, vol. i. p. 128. family has been brought together in 
 
 ^ Foley's Records of the English Mr. R. C. Christie's Introduction to the 
 
 Province of the Society of Jesus, vol. i. Letters of Sir Thomas Copley, printed 
 
 p, 186. for the Roxburghe Club in 1896. The 
 
 * Loseley Manuscripts, p. 242. editor there corrects several errors in 
 
 * S. P. Dom. Addenda, Elizabeth, the article which he had previously 
 vol. xxxi. no. 158; Strype's Annals, contributed to the Dictionary of Nation- 
 vol. iii ; Acts of the Privy Council, al Biography, vol. xni. p. i6g.
 
 1 64 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. iv. 
 
 The arms of Luttrell occur several times in some fine 
 heraldic glass that was removed from one of the 
 seats of the Copley fiimily to the great hall at Sutton 
 Place near Guildford. 
 
 A more curious memorial of the Copleys is an oil 
 painting w^hich now hangs at Dunster Castle, hav- 
 ing been recently bought by Mr. G. F. Luttrell. 
 In this, Sir Thomas Copley is represented in a tab- 
 ard bearing the arms of Copley and Hoo quarterly, 
 kneeling at a faldstool, with his five sons behind 
 him. On the opposite side, Lady Copley is re- 
 presented in a mantle bearing the arms of Luttrell 
 and Ryce alternately, similarly kneeling and attended 
 by her four daughters. 
 
 The central part of the picture is intended to illustrate 
 the progress of the human soul from earth to hea- 
 ven. The flesh and the devil endeavour to hold it, 
 but death cuts their gilded cords with his scythe 
 and the soul ascends through thirteen concentric 
 circles representing the Ptolemaic system. In the 
 Empyrean Heaven above is the crucified Saviour 
 attended by Saints, and in the circumference are 
 Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, 
 Powers, Principalities, Archangels and Angels, ac- 
 cording to the Dionysian arrangement which was 
 followed by Dante and others. This ' device ' of 
 Sir Thomas Copley, having been approved by the 
 theologians of the University of Paris in 1580, was 
 engraved there in that year. ^ His eldest daughter 
 added a Latin inscription and three coats of arms 
 to the original painting, in 1625.^ 
 
 ' Harrison's Ainials of an old Manor- ^ This lady's name was Joan — not 
 
 House. Elizabeth. She married Peter de Mar- 
 
 ' S.P. Foreign, France, vol. iv. no. tigni, lord of Eteves, captain of Philip- 
 
 178. The existence of the original peville. 
 device was not known to Mr. Christie.
 
 CH. IV. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 
 
 i6s 
 
 Dorothy, second daughter and coheiress of Sir John 
 Luttrell, was twelve years of age at the time of his 
 death. She married Humphrey White, citizen and 
 merchant tailor of London. ^ 
 
 Mary, third daughter and coheiress of Sir John Lut- 
 trell, was nine years of age at the time of his death. 
 She married Henry Shelley of Mapledurham, in 
 Hampshire, a cousin of Sir Thomas Copley, and also 
 a Popish Recusant. ^ 
 
 The two younger daughters of Sir John Luttrell re- 
 ceived a great bowl apiece under the will of their 
 grandmother. Dame Catherine Edgcumbe, and a gold 
 ring with a death's head and an enamelled motto under 
 that of their brother-in-law, Sir Thomas Copley. ' 
 They survived their respective husbands, and were 
 living as widows in 1595, long after selling their 
 rights in the Dunster estate to their uncle, Thomas 
 Luttrell, the male representative of the family. * 
 
 • D.C.M. (Prynne's list) xxxviii. 77, 
 80; Letters of Sir Thomas Copley, pp. 88, 
 183, 188. 
 
 ^ Weaver's Visitations of Somerset, 
 p. 43; Inner Temple Records vol. i. p. Iv; 
 D.C.M. II. 18. 
 
 ^ Somerset Medieval Wills, vol. Hi. 
 p. 149 ; Letters of Sir Thomas Copley, 
 p. 184. 
 
 * Chancery Proceedings, Eliz. LI. 
 4, no. 5.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Luttrells of Dunster 
 1551 — 1644. 
 
 Thomas Luttrell, second son of Sir Andrew Lut- 
 trell, served under his brother Sir John in Scotland, 
 and assisted him by collecting men and money for the 
 war. ^ In November i 548, it was falsely reported that 
 he had been killed in a fight at Dundee. ^ According 
 to the terms of the will of his brother, he should 
 have succeeded to all his landed property. ^ The laws 
 of the realm, however, required that a third of it should 
 be reserved for the daughters and coheirs of the 
 testator. * Furthermore, under various family settle- 
 ments, his mother, Dame Margaret Luttrell, had for 
 her life the manors of East Quantockshead, Iveton, 
 Vexford, Radlet, Carhampton and Rodhuish ; the 
 manor of Minehead was in the hands of trustees 
 charged to raise out of it the portions of the younger 
 children of Sir Andrew ; and Dame Mary Luttrell, 
 his sister-in-law, had for her life the castle and 
 borough of Dunster and the manor of Kilton. The 
 property that actually passed to Thomas Luttrell, in 
 I 551, was consequently very small. In the course 
 
 ' state Papers, Scotland, Edw. VI. » S.P. Scotland, Edvv. VI. vol. iv. 
 
 vol. iv. no. 14 ; Acts of the Privy Conn- no. 114. 
 
 cil N.S. vol. ii. p. 245 ; Hist. MSS. ^ p.c.C. Bucke. f. 37. 
 
 Comm. Report on Rutland MSS. vol. iv. * St. 32 Hen. VIII. c. i ; 34 & 35 
 
 p. 204 ; D.C.M. III. 3 ; xxxvil. 29. Hen. VIII. c. 5.
 
 CH. V. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 167 
 
 of a few years, however, he managed to buy up some 
 of the rights of his sister-in-law, and the reversionary 
 rights of her three daughters and their respective 
 husbands. ^ 
 
 In order to do this, he had to sell Stonehall and 
 Woodhall, in Suffolk, and various outlying estates in 
 the west of England. ^ On the other hand he con- 
 solidated his property by the purchase of Hopcot, 
 between Wootton Courtenay and Minehead. ^ He 
 also acquired for himself and his successors a consider- 
 able inheritance in the neighbourhood of Dunster, by 
 marrying his cousin Margaret, daughter and eventual 
 heiress of Christopher Hadley of Withycombe. One 
 of her direct ancestors had married the heiress of the 
 Durboroughs of Heathfield, and a previous Durborough 
 had married a coheiress of the Fitzurses of Williton 
 and Withycombe. She accordingly brought to her 
 husband the manors of Heathfield, Williton Hadley, 
 and Withycombe Hadley, and lands in various parishes 
 in West Somerset. * 
 
 The date and the exact circumstances of the mar- 
 riage are not recorded, but we may fairly suppose it 
 to have taken place in the reign of Edward the 
 Sixth, when ecclesiastical discipline was somewhat 
 lax. The validity of it was evidently challenged in 
 the stricter reign of Philip and Mary, for the parties 
 found it desirable to have recourse to Rome. A 
 solemn document issued by the Cardinal of St. Angelo, 
 Papal Penitentiary, at St. Peter's, on the 28th of 
 November 1558, recites that Thomas Luttrell esquire 
 
 * D.C.M. II. 16, 18; XIV. 1-5, II, 13, * D.C.M. XXXVI. 8. In a lease of 
 
 16 ; XXIV. 15 ; XXIX. 38 ; xxxviii. 'j'], 79, Hopcot granted by him, he reserved 
 
 80. Feet of Fines, Somerset, Hilary all hawks, pheasants and partridges, 
 
 and Easter 6 Eliz ; Trinity 7 Eliz. Inq. post mortem, Wards & Liveries, 
 
 Notes of Fines, Easter 10 Eliz ; Mich. 13 (113). 
 
 II Ehz. *■ Memoranda Roll, 4 Eliz. part 4, 
 
 2 D.C.M. xxxviii. 81, 84. m. 66.
 
 1 68 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. v. 
 
 and Margaret Hadley had by their petition confessed 
 that they had, without proper dispensation, been 
 actually married, although related in the third and 
 third, and in the third and fourth degrees of kindred, 
 and although spiritually related, the mother of Thomas 
 having stood godmother to Margaret at her baptism 
 or confirmation. The language of the document 
 leaves it doubtful vsrhether the marriage had been 
 solemnized in public and whether any issue had been 
 actually born. Its effect, however, was to release the 
 parties from the excommunication that they had 
 incurred on condition of a fresh marriage " in the 
 face of the church," and to legitimate any previous 
 offspring. ' 
 
 The relationship in blood between them can be best 
 explained by two tables on the opposite page. The first 
 shews kindred in the third and third degrees, and the 
 second shews kindred in the third and fourth degrees. 
 
 The dispensation, having been issued a few days 
 after the accession of Elizabeth, was probably one of 
 the very latest documents of the sort that was des- 
 patched before the final breach between England and 
 Rome, and the sequel is perhaps the most curious 
 part of the story. For nearly two years no further 
 action was taken in the matter, but on the 27th of 
 August 1560, Thomas Luttrell was solemnly married 
 in the church of East Quantockshead, his bride being 
 described in the register as " Mrs. Margaret Hadley. " 
 Their eldest son, George Luttrell, was born in the 
 following month. In the inscription on the monu- 
 ment which he set up in memory of his parents, some 
 sixty years later, it is expressly stated that they were 
 " lawfully married. " 
 
 ' D.C.M. XXXVII. 26.
 
 CH. V. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 169 
 
 In 1559, the growing town of Minehead received 
 a royal charter of incorporation, the government 
 being vested in a portreeve and twelve burgesses. ^ In 
 1563, when it for the first time sent up members to 
 
 Robert Hill. 
 
 I I 
 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell = Margaret. Giles Hill. 
 
 J 
 
 Sir Andrew Luttrell. Christopher HadlevTrAnne. 
 
 I—' 1 ^ 
 
 Thomas Luttrell. Margaret Hadley. 
 
 Sir James Luttrell == Elizabeth Courtenay=Sir Humphrey Audley. 
 
 I i 
 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell. Richard Hadley =Philippa 
 
 H 
 
 Sir Andrew Luttrell. James Hadley 
 
 H 
 
 Thomas Luttrell. Christopher Hadley. 
 
 I 
 
 Margaret Hadley. 
 
 Parliament, Thomas Luttrell, the lord of the manor, 
 was one of the two elected. ^ He and his tenants at 
 Minehead resolved to make a new quay or pier there, 
 
 ' Patent Roll, i Eliz. This is clearly an error. (S. P. Dom. 
 
 * Return of Mcvibers of Parliament, Eliz. vol. Ixxvii. no. 44.) Fitz William 
 
 vol. i. p. 405. Thomas Fitzwilliam and and Fowler were the members for 
 
 John Fowler are stated to have sat for Weymouth. (Return of Members of 
 
 Minehead in the Parliament of 1559. Parliament, vol. i. p. 400.) 
 (Willis" Notitia Parliamentaria, p. 66.) 
 
 W
 
 170 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. v. 
 
 and, in the last year of his life, he penned a circular 
 letter to his neighbours, friends and " well willers, " 
 inviting them to contribute to the work, which, he 
 considered, would be very useful to the country. ^ He 
 was appointed Sheriff of Somerset in the autumn of 
 1570. 
 
 Although Thomas Luttrell was constantly at Dun- 
 ster transacting business, he did not actually reside 
 there. He is described as " Thomas Luttrell of 
 Marshwood " in some legal proceedings with regard 
 to treasure trove in the Hundred of Carhampton. 
 The main facts of the case may be given briefly. A 
 certain Agnes Ellesworth, the wife of Richard Elles- 
 worth the elder " of Imbercombe, husbandman, " was 
 delivered of a still-born child, in the month of May 
 1559, at Owl Knowle in the parish of Carhampton, 
 a house which he presumably rented from Thomas 
 Trevelyan. In digging a grave hard by, wherein to 
 bury the body,she suddenly came upon a great quantity 
 of gold coins sufficient, it was estimated, to fill a " wyne 
 quart " less a quarter of a " wyne pynte. " After giving 
 a few to two female friends who were with her at the 
 time, she put the rest into a " trene dysshe " (wooden 
 dish) and so handed them over to her husband on his 
 return. They consisted of " old nobles, " " half old 
 nobles, " and " quarter old nobles, " and Richard 
 Ellesworth, reckoning the noble at i y. 4^. estimated 
 their value at 107/. ioj. When a report of their 
 discovery reached Thomas Luttrell, he laid claim to 
 them as treasure trove in his Hundred of Carhampton, 
 but satisfied himself with coins to the value of 1 00/. 
 The finder was not, however, suffered to keep the 
 remainder, and they were handed over, in May 1560, 
 
 • D.C.M. XXIX. 34.
 
 CH. V. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 171 
 
 to Sir Thomas Parry, Treasurer of the Queen's 
 Household. Then began tedious proceedings in the 
 Exchequer, the Attorney General putting forward the 
 right of the Crown and Thomas Luttrell defending 
 his own claim, to be supported by extracts from court 
 rolls and bailliffs' accounts. Eventually the case was 
 set down for trial before the justices of assize at Chard 
 in July 1564.^ Here the story ends abruptly. There 
 is no record of the judgment, which was to have been 
 entered at the Exchequer in Michaelmas term. Per- 
 haps the Crown withdrew its claim. Anyhow, the 
 Luttrells have maintained theirs ever since, and it is 
 interesting to note that there are now at Dunster 
 Castle a number of nobles, half-nobles and angels of 
 the reign of Edward the Fourth, which are presum- 
 ably the remains of the hoard found at Owl Knowle in 
 
 1559- 
 
 Thomas Luttrell died on the 1 6th of January 1571, 
 and was buried at Dunster on the 6th of February. 
 By Margaret his wife, mentioned above, he had issue 
 three sons and as many daughters ; — 
 
 George, his heir. 
 
 John, of South Mapperton in Dorset. 
 
 Andrew, baptized at Dunster on the 14th of October 
 1569. He died without issue. 
 
 Ursula. 
 
 Margaret. 
 
 Mary, baptized at Dunster on the iith of October 
 1567, and mentioned in the will of her grand- 
 mother, Dame Margaret Luttrell, in 1580.^ She 
 married, as his second wife. Sir Robert Strode of 
 Parnham in Dorset, son of her stepfather. ^ 
 
 ' Memoranda Roll, K. R. Trinity 3 vi. p. 15. 
 Eliz. 20, 56 ; D.C.M. xxxi. 18. ^ Hutchins's History of Dorset, vol. ii. 
 
 - Brown's Somersetshire Wills, vol. p. 130.
 
 172 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. v. 
 
 Margaret Luttrell, the relict of Thomas, received 
 dower out of her husband's lands. ^ On the 28th of 
 January 1572, when her year of mourning was just 
 over, she was married at East Quantockshead to John 
 Strode of Parnham. He died some ten years later 
 and, in 1587, she married a third husband, Richard 
 Hill, who had been her ' servant, ' probably her 
 agent. ^ He was knighted after her death, which 
 occurred at Luxborough on the 30th of September 
 1607. ^ 
 
 George Luttrell, the eldest son of Thomas and 
 Margaret, was born about the 1 2th of September 
 1560, and was consequently under eleven years of age 
 at the death of his father. * His wardship pertaining 
 to the Crown was soon sold to Hugh Stewkley of 
 Marshtown near Dunster, who put him to school 
 with a certain Mr. Brebrooke. While he was still 
 quite young, he was given the choice of his guardian's 
 two daughters, Joan and Susan, and he selected the 
 former, who was about two years younger than himself. 
 In October 1575, the young couple were solemnly 
 contracted at Marsh " by words of the present time, " 
 he taking her by the hand and saying : — " I, George, 
 take thee, Joan, to my wedded wife, and thereto I 
 give thee my faith and troth. " Hugh Stewkley was 
 careful that there should be witnesses of the ceremony 
 and that they should put their names to a written 
 memorial of it. ^ 
 
 In July 1576, when George Luttrell was nearly 
 sixteen, he was admitted a Fellow Commoner at 
 Caius College, Cambridge, and was given a cubicle 
 
 • D.C.M. II. 22, 23. 3 D.C.M. XXXII. ^2. 
 
 » Ihid. XIV. 23 ; XXXII. 49, 54 ; Chan- " Inq. post mortem, C. Ii, 159, no. 43. 
 
 eery Proceedings, Eliz. LI. 11, no. 67. * D.C.M. xxxviii. 88.
 
 CH. V. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 173 
 
 in the Master's Lodging. ^ From Cambridge he 
 wrote in the following year that he fully intended to 
 marry his cousin, Joan Stewkley, hoping thereby to 
 put an end to the " brablings " between her father 
 and his grandmother, Dame Margaret Luttrell. The 
 project was, however, strongly opposed both by her 
 and by his step-father John Strode. The old lady 
 declared that he would be " utterly cast away " if he 
 were to marry the daughter of the miserly lawyer 
 who had so often thwarted the Luttrells, and she 
 threatened that if her wishes were disregarded, she 
 would leave away the Priory of Dunster from her 
 grandson, and so make him " a poor gentleman. " 
 A match in Wales was suggested as an alternative, and 
 Sir James Fitzjames, who wished to secure the 
 young heir for his own niece, did not scruple to say 
 that Joan Stewkley was " a slutte and that she had no 
 good qualities. " ^ 
 
 By a will dated the 9th of March 1580, Dame Mar- 
 garet Luttrell bequeathed to her grandson, George 
 Luttrell, the hanging of arras that had been made for 
 the parlour at Dunster, two bowls of silver gilt, a 
 drinking cup of silver gilt that had belonged to his 
 father, two spoons and a salt, and, furthermore, the 
 Priory of Dunster with all the lands and profits belong- 
 ing thereto. ^ She died on the 7th of July in that 
 year and was buried beside her husband at East 
 Quantockshead. All effective opposition being thus 
 at an end, George Luttrell was duly married to Joan 
 Stewkley at Dunster on the 25th of September 1580, 
 he being then just over twenty years of age. He was ad- 
 mitted a member of Gray's Inn in the following month. 
 
 ^ Venn's History of Gonvillc and ^ Brown's Somersetshire Wills, vol. 
 
 Cains College, vol. i, p. 87. vi. p. 15. 
 
 2 D.C.M. XXXVIII. 88.
 
 174 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. v. 
 
 In 1584, we find George Luttrell undertaking to 
 let his mother, Margaret Strode, have " one fee bucke 
 of season in the summer, and one fee doe in the 
 winter" from his park at Dunster or from that at East 
 Quantockshead at her choice. ^ Kilton fell to him 
 on the death of Dame Mary Luttrell in 1588, and 
 on the death of his mother, in 1607, he succeeded to 
 the lands which she held in dower and to the Hadley 
 inheritance. 
 
 George Luttrell was returned to Parliament as one 
 of the members for Minehead in i 584, but he did not 
 cultivate the friendly relations with the borough that 
 had usually subsisted in his father's time. It was 
 doubtless at his instance that a royal commission was 
 appointed, in 1 601, to enquire whether the Portreeve 
 and burgesses had maintained the port as required. 
 The report being unfavourable, their charter was 
 abrogated in the early part of the reign of James the 
 First and the corporation ceased to exist. ^ Not satis- 
 fied with this, George Luttrell wished Minehead to 
 be disfranchised. There is a draft petition from him 
 to the House of Commons stating that the town " did 
 never choose anie burgesses for the Parlyment, as 
 appeareth by record, untill the fifte yeare of the raigne 
 of the late memorable Queene Elizabeth " and con- 
 tending that it would be " a great indignitie " to that 
 "honorable assemblie " that burgesses should be chosen 
 " without legal power and authoritie. " He could 
 hardly have foreseen that his descendants would derive 
 influence and profit from their connexion with the 
 borough of Minehead. 
 
 In 1583 and in 1586, he was required to provide 
 a demilance and two light horsemen for the service of 
 
 ' D.C.M. XIV. 24. Somerset, 1994 ; Memoranda Roll, 
 
 * Exchequer Special Commissions, K.R. Trin. i Jac. I. m. 25.
 
 CH. V. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 175 
 
 the State. ^ How he avoided the burden of knight- 
 hood does not appear. He was appointed Sheriff of 
 Somerset in 1593 and again in 1609. ^ According to 
 tradition, he was " much noted for his hospitahty and 
 the general love and respect of his neighbours. " ^ 
 Contemporary documents, however, show him to have 
 been exceedingly litigious. At some period of his life, 
 he must have spent long days searching the records 
 in London for evidence in support of his feudal rights 
 over the manors and lands pertaining to the Honour 
 of Dunster. His early legal training had made him 
 very observant of minute points, and he left behind 
 him a quantity of ill-written notes about rents, bound- 
 aries, and the like. It would be tedious to enumerate 
 the different suits in which he was engaged against 
 his father-in-law, his aunt, his tenants, his neighbours, 
 and his tradesmen. Two poachers who confessed 
 that they had hunted, killed and taken some deer in 
 his park at Dunster received a very severe sentence in 
 the notorious Court of Star Chamber in 1597, being 
 committed to the Fleet Prison for three months, 
 required to find security for good behaviour for seven 
 years, and ordered to pay no less than 100/. apiece 
 as a fine to the Crown. * 
 
 George Luttrell deserves to be remembered as a 
 builder. At Dunster, he converted part of the lower 
 ward of the Castle into a Jacobean mansion, he altered 
 the house now known as the Luttrell Arms Hotels 
 and he built the picturesque market-house. At East 
 Quantockshead, he greatly enlarged the manor house, 
 altering it so materially that the old plan cannot easily 
 be traced. At Marshwood, he appears to have renov- 
 
 1 Green's Somerset & the Armada, * Palmer MS. at St. Audries. 
 
 pp. 34, 70. * D.C.M. XIV. 39. 
 
 ' List of Sheriffs, p. 124, 125.
 
 176 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. v. 
 
 ated the house for his married son. At Minehead, 
 in 1 6 1 6, he built a pier afterwards known as ' the Old 
 Quay, ' at a cost of about 5000/, the townsmen having 
 forfeited their charter of incorporation, as mentioned 
 above. ' 
 
 There is at Dunster Castle a portrait of George 
 Luttrell painted on panel in 1 594, in the thirty-fourth 
 year of his age. He is represented in black brocade 
 with a metal belt round the waist, a large ruff and 
 white cuffs. The face is not unlike that of his uncle. 
 Sir John Luttrell, as depicted by Lucas d'Heere. ^ 
 
 George Luttrell died on the ist of April 1629, 
 and was buried at Dunster on the 23rd. Joan his 
 wife, already mentioned, had predeceased him and 
 had been buried, on the 22nd of November 1621, 
 in the Priory Church of Dunster, near her parents the 
 Stewkleys, in accordance with a will made by consent 
 of her husband. ^ They had issue five sons and seven 
 daughters : — 
 
 Thomas, heir to his father. 
 
 Hugh, of Rodhuish. 
 
 George, baptized at Dunster on the 12th of October 
 1590. He matriculated at Lincoln College, Ox- 
 ford, in 1608, and afterwards became a student of 
 Gray's Inn. He was buried at Dunster, on the 
 30th of December 1619. 
 
 John, baptized at Dunster on the 5th of January i 592. 
 He matriculated at Lincoln College, Oxford, in 
 1608. He was living in 1620. 
 
 Andrew, baptized at Dunster on the 6th of June 1596 
 and buried there four days later. 
 
 ' Hancock's Minehead, pp. 284, 286. picture. 
 
 ' It may be noticed that the tinctures » Brown's Somersetshire Wills, vol. 
 
 of the Luttrell arms are given wrongly vi. p. i6. 
 in the shield in the corner of the
 
 GEORGl': LL'TTRELL. 
 
 1594.
 
 CH. V. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 177 
 
 Margaret, baptized at East Quantockshead on the 
 1 1 th of October 1584. She married at Dunster, 
 on the 3rd of August 1607, John Trevelyan of 
 Nettlecombe. ^ 
 
 Catherine, baptized at Dunster on the i8th of April 
 1589. She married there, on the 4th of August 
 1 607, the morrow of her sister's wedding, Lewis 
 Pyne of East Down, in Devonshire. 
 
 EHzabeth, baptized at Dunster on the 23rd of March 
 
 1593, and buried there on the 21st of May 1595. 
 Susan, baptized at Dunster on the 9th of October 
 
 1594. She married there, on the 29th of June 
 1 61 2, John Francis of Combe Florey. ^ 
 
 Elizabeth, baptized at Dunster on the 3rd of October 
 1598. In March i62i[-2], George Luttrell, her 
 father, made a formal declaration that he was willing 
 that she should have the sum of i ,400/. bequeathed 
 to her by her mother Joan, provided that she did 
 not marry a Popish Recusant or the son of a Popish 
 Recusant, or any other without his own consent, 
 or, after his death, the consent of Thomas Wyndham 
 of Kentsford, John Francis and Richard Worth, or 
 two of them. In the event of her disregarding this 
 injunction, the money was to be divided between 
 her nieces named Trevelyan and her brother-in-law 
 John Francis. ^ She nevertheless married, in that 
 year, Thomas Arundel of Chideock in Dorset, a 
 member of a noted Roman Catholic family. 
 
 Sarah, baptized at Dunster on the 3rd of April 1600. 
 She inherited 200/. from her mother, and in her 
 case George Luttrell did not think it necessary to 
 make any stipulation about the choice of a hus- 
 band. * She married at Dunster, on the 9th of 
 
 ' D.C.M. XXXVIII. 93 (Prynne). ' D.C.M. xxxviii. 97. 
 
 » Ibid, xxxviii. 95. * D.C.M. xxxviii. 97, 98.
 
 178 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. v. 
 
 February 1625, Edmund Bowyer of Beer near Can- 
 nington. ^ She was buried at Stockland, on the 
 17th of May 1664. 
 Mary, buried at Dunster on the 24th of March 1608. 
 
 About ten months after the death of his wife, 
 George Luttrell of Dunster Castle was married at East 
 Quantockshead, on the 3rd of October 1622, to "an 
 obscure person, " Silvestra daughter of James Capps 
 of Jews in the parish of Wiveliscombe. She was 
 the mother of Sarah Luttrell alias Capps, and Diana 
 Luttrell alias Capps, for both of whom he made ample 
 provision in his lifetime and to each of whom he 
 bequeathed 500/. at the age of twenty-one or on mar- 
 riage.^ The former married Alexander Keynes. The 
 latter married John Wogan, of Pembrokeshire, at East 
 Quantockshead, in 1634, and married secondly Alexan- 
 der Lynde. ^ Silvestra Luttrell had for her jointure the 
 manors of Kilton and East Quantockshead.* A leaden 
 pipe-head at the latter place bears her initials with those 
 of her husband, and the date 1 628. ^ The whole house 
 had apparently been altered for her benefit. The arms 
 of Luttrell impaling those of Capps are also to be seen 
 at the LiUttrell Arms Hotel at Dunster. Some nine 
 months after the death of her husband, on the 15th 
 of January, 1630, Silvestra Luttrell was married at 
 East Quantockshead to Sir Edmund Skory. The 
 union did not prove happy, as appears by his will 
 dated the 4th of May 1632. By this he bequeaths 
 20J. " to Giles Baker, my servant, who hath lived 
 under the tyranny of my wife, to the danger of his 
 
 ' Brown's Somersetshire Wills, vol. Hancock's Minchead,p. 213, whereihe 
 
 iv. p. 82. name is wrongly given as Lyne and 
 
 " Ibid. vol. vi. p. 17 ; D.C.M. xxxvili. Lyde. 
 
 100. * D.C.M. III. 5 ; xxiii. 45. 
 
 * D.C.M. III. 12 ; XXXVIII. 103, 104 ; ^ See the woodcut on page 185.
 
 CH. V. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 179 
 
 life, during the space of two years. " He also be- 
 queaths " to Dame Silvestre Skory, my wife, whom I 
 hartely forgive all her wicked attempts against mee, 
 a praier booke called 'The Practice of Piety, desiring 
 that she better love and affect the same than hitherto 
 she hath done. " The widow tried in vain to prove 
 that the testator was of unsound mind. ^ Nevertheless 
 she secured a third husband in the person of Giles 
 Penny, whom she married at East Quantockshead in 
 1634. Her stepson, Thomas Luttrell, bore her no 
 love, and brought a suit against her for damage to his 
 deer and timber at East Quantockshead. ^ She was 
 in possession of the manor-house there as late as the 
 year 1655, having survived the son and the grandson 
 of her first husband. ^ 
 
 Thomas Luttrell, son and heir of George, was 
 baptized at Dunster, on the 26th of February 1584. He 
 matriculated at Lincoln College, Oxford, in i 597 and 
 became B.A. in 1599. He was admitted a student 
 of Lincoln's Inn in 1604. He did not marry until 
 1 62 1, when he took to wife Jane, daughter of Sir 
 Francis Popham, of Littlecote, in Wiltshire, an active 
 politician. * The arms of Luttrell, impaled with 
 those of Popham may be seen at Marshwood, and it 
 is probable that Thomas Luttrell lived there until the 
 death of his father in 1629. He was returned 
 Member for Minehead in 1625, but at subsequent 
 elections his influence there seems to have been exert- 
 ed in favour of different members of his wife's family, 
 who espoused the Parliamentary side in the reign of 
 Charles the First. ^ He was Sheriff of Somerset in 
 
 ' Brown's Somersetshire Wills, vol. v. ^ P.C.C. Aylett, f. 185. 
 
 p. 66. ^ D.C.M. III. 4, 6. 
 
 ^ Chancery Proceedings, Series II. * Dictionary of National Biography, 
 
 bundle 408, no. 43. vol. xlvi. p. 143.
 
 i8o A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. v. 
 
 1631. ^ In 1633, we find him associated with other 
 justices of the peace for the county in a protest against 
 the revival of church-ales, clerk-ales and revels. ^ 
 
 Some nine years later, he further displayed his 
 poUtical sympathies by committing to prison at Mine- 
 head a notable fugitive, Roger Manwaring, Bishop of 
 St. David's, who had given offence by his advocacy 
 of absolutist views. ^ 
 
 At the very outset of the Civil War in August 
 1642, the Marquess of Hertford went to Somerset to 
 organize the militia for the King, but the county rose 
 against him and drove him from Wells to Sherborne. 
 This place in turn he found to be untenable, and while 
 negotiating, or pretending to negotiate, for a surrend- 
 er, he broke out with about four hundred followers, 
 on the 19th of September, and directed his course to 
 Minehead.* The Earl of Bedford, commanding for 
 the Parliament, at once issued warrants for the appre- 
 hension of any of the party, and sent off posts to 
 Thomas Luttrell, bidding him strengthen and make 
 good his castle at Dunster.'^ This order was promptly 
 obeyed, and Thomas Luttrell increased his garrison by 
 a hundred men. Anticipating moreover that the 
 Royalists would endeavour to cross over to Wales, he 
 caused the rudders of all the ships in Minehead har- 
 bour to be removed. *^ 
 
 On arriving at Minehead, Lord Hertford fortified 
 himself in a " strong inn, " and then despatched sixty 
 of Sir Ralph Hopton's men to demand entrance into 
 Dunster Castle. They met, however, with a peremp- 
 tory refusal, and as, after some parley, they would not 
 
 ' List of Sheriffs, p. 125. xxxvi. p. 104. 
 
 * S. P. Dom. Charles I. vol. 255, * England's Memorable Accidents. 
 
 no. 3Q. s Special Passages. 
 
 ^ Hist. MSS. Comm. Report V. p. 35; « England's Memorable Accidents. 
 Dictionary of National Biography, vol.
 
 CH. V. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. i8i 
 
 go away, Mrs. Luttrell commanded the men within 
 the Castle to " give fire. " It was in vain that the 
 Royalist officer ordered them to disregard her, and 
 when Mrs. Luttrell again commanded them " upon 
 their lives to do it, " they opened fire, and the cava- 
 liers beat a hasty retreat. ^ 
 
 Eventually, the King's infantry and artillery escaped 
 in some coalships to Wales, while the cavalry went 
 further westward. The Parliamentary party were, 
 however, apprehensive that the Royalists would return 
 suddenly, and by surprise get possession of Dunster 
 Castle, from which it was thought that ten thousand 
 men could hardly dislodge them. Proposals were 
 accordingly made for raising horse and foot to guard 
 it, but the " very thoughts " of such a measure caused 
 the peaceable men of Minehead to give a very cold 
 reception to Lord Bedford when he arrived in pursuit. 
 He himself took up his quarters at Dunster Castle for 
 a short time. ^ 
 
 Lord Hertford was much vexed at his " disastrous 
 fortune at Minieard and Dunster " and wrote a sting- 
 ing letter to Sir Ralph Hopton, attributing it to the 
 " evill dispositions and cowardly behaviour " of the 
 west-countrymen serving under him, under Captain 
 Digby and under Sir John Stawell, who ran away, 
 endangering the persons of their officers and all the 
 ordnance. Sir Ralph in reply vindicated the courage 
 of his men, declaring that they would not " runne or 
 give one foot of ground " to any foreign invader, but 
 that it was " not warrantable by God's lawes " for 
 men to fight against their own kindred.' As the Civil 
 War progressed, he must have found it necessary to 
 modify his humane and peaceable sentiments. 
 
 » special Passages. 304. 3o8 ; Special Passages. 
 
 ' Hist. MSS. Comm. Report iv. pp. * New plots discovered.
 
 iSz A HISTORY Ok DLNSTi^R. catv. 
 
 Earlf in Janoaij 1643;, die Wek hm cn gzvc luiylA 
 oo the coast Ob SoomsetL SWiic. <k tfirin ItMMkjMlcd 
 Minciicad Imbom; and, b^ jpuLU J Htu^ tlie cnby of 
 any Aqpscir boats, a to p f rf the SByp^rfpwmacMg and 
 coaL Otfaors, abont five hambi il in nnmbcr, a- itr 
 Captain P^nkt, landed dicic; *■ invaded "* tlic CE - 
 and ** < ■■Muin ed tlie inUntants to yedd tc 
 taxation and to snbant tnenBeivcs ULivjuts and : 
 to cvoy poor, baae Gon^nmon, to save tlicir it.' 
 firoaa bei]^ cnt. ^ Thas party nnde an allaik _ : 
 
 DnnsiEr ^^^'^ 'fc^'*^ ''^^'"™"^^' ''^^^'^ *^ ^ 
 
 able to lepafac tncm and sccmc tne feonnt 
 The figpiting cannot bave bceniivrr se ' 
 fin- wbcn a shot fiom the Casde kiZzc 
 aaoifanis^ Captam Pnlet was mc t : 
 vuwLd that be wunid ii|wanrii' the z. 
 his fimfas on the battlonenls as £: : 
 point of £a£t he moved on to Ri 
 hnndiid nHwtirlieeis and fivtr Ik^t: : 
 
 In May 1643, we find The-- L 
 pns fin- his niece Mirrrrrrt T 
 feDWaks,aid ~r i 
 
 hnvlMnilj George T:: tam. 
 
 fir his ddinc- fz ~ 
 nBooedMnoe u ^ ' ; ' ~ : ; 
 
 --.':- ne 
 
 ^-% 
 
 tc 
 to honnr 
 
 F 
 to icpuit tha: 
 
 to deliver u: 
 
 thesBOgt : 
 
 (S5L£)i ?. 4d-.
 
 CH.V. A HISTORY OF DUNSTEK. 183 
 
 Clarendon relates that, in the middle of Jane 1643, 
 the Marquess of Hertford obtained possessioo of 
 Taunton and Brideewater in three davs, and pro- 
 ceeds : — 
 
 J^jric+2T- CsStIc S-? 
 
 . W.S- = KJ. 
 
 :— t- :.:\i ~:-:z- :: : ! > l_::T:e . was, with as li'zLt 
 r : 1 f r : r : t : r - t r : e i - - : the King ; inio 
 vr - : : T ..":_: 7 , : . "_z: i:ii_: ic^o i .: as Governor, as 
 
 Thomas Luttrell was moreover compelled to pav a 
 large sum, either as i r.ne :r i r>roof of derodoo 
 to the Rovalist cause. There ls at Dunster a signi- 
 ficant httle receipt as follows : — 
 
 " xxiij'* die Junii 1643. Receavcd the day and jeare 
 above written to his Magesdes use fay me Edward Kjrton, 
 Esq. Treasorar for the annj under the comaund of the r^;fat 
 honorable the Marquesse of Hertfiird, Liftenant General! c^ 
 his Msgesties forces in the wes^c^Thnnas Luttrdl ofDunstar 
 Castle in the countr of Scxnerset, Esq. die simimr of five 
 hundred powndes, in part of payment of the summe or one 
 thousand powndes which the said Mr. Luttrdl is to pay 
 towardes the charge of the said army. I say recezved, Edw. 
 Kyrtcxi. 
 
 Whether Thomas Luttrell was after this ^j- -": " 
 remain in his own castle does not appear. ~- : . .:. 
 few months later, and was buried at Dunster on the 
 7th of February 1 644- There is at Dunster Castle a 
 portrait on panel dating firom the later part of the reign 
 of James the First, which probabhr represents this 
 Thonias Luttrell. The subject of it has k>ng hair and 
 a short beard. He is attired in a h'ght green doublet 
 and trunk hose, with a falling collar edged with lace, 
 
 » Hisimy ^flte ftfcrftiiB. fed, rtift ^oL ir. p>. iml
 
 1 84 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. v. 
 
 and white cuffs. There is a black hat under the right 
 arm and a sword under the other. Thomas and Jane 
 Luttrell had issue four sons and a daughter : — 
 
 Alexander, born in 1622 and so called after his uncle 
 Alexander Popham. He matriculated at Lincoln 
 College, Oxford, in 1637, and, while still under 
 age, was elected to represent Minehead in the 
 Parliament of 1640, but he died before his father, 
 some two or three years later. 
 
 George, heir to his father. 
 
 Thomas, baptized at Dunster on the 8th of March 
 
 1627, and buried there on the 2nd of April. 
 Francis, baptized at Dunster on the ist of November 
 
 1 628, and so called after his grandfather. Sir Francis 
 Popham. He eventually succeeded his brother 
 George. 
 
 Amy, baptized at Dunster, on the 26th of June 1630. 
 She married firstly Thomas Hele of South Petherton, 
 and secondly George Reynell of Kingsbridge, in 
 Devonshire. ^ 
 
 Within a few days of the death of Thomas Luttrell, 
 his relict was compelled to pay a large sum to the 
 Crown, as appears by the following receipt : — 
 
 " 13th February 1643. Then received of Mrs. Jane 
 Luttrell the summe of fiveteene hundred pounds, as see 
 much due to his Majestie for the fjne of her selfe and her 
 two sonnes ; I say received for his Majestie's service the 
 day and yeere above written the summe of 1500, by me 
 Francis Hawley. " 
 
 The person who gave it was merely an officer in the 
 Royalist Army, but the payment might possibly be 
 regarded as the purchase money for the wardship of 
 
 • Somerset & Dorset Notes & Queries, vol. ii. p. 230.
 
 CH. V. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 
 
 .8s 
 
 the heir of the Dunster estate, who was a minor at the 
 time of his father's death. A few weeks later, there 
 is another acquittance : — 
 
 "25*° die Marcii 1644, anno regni Regis Caroli 19°. 
 Receaved then of Mistriss Jane Luttrell the summe of three 
 score pownds in parte of payment of one hundred pownds 
 which she was to pay by way of loane upon His Majestie's 
 lettre in the nature of a privie seale for His Majestie's 
 service. I say receaved. Per me William Prowse, deput' 
 vicecomitis. " 
 
 Jane Luttrell must have been loth indeed to furnish 
 money for the party which she and her relations had 
 so steadily opposed. In later and happier times, she 
 lived at Marshwood, where she hoarded her savings, 
 as will appear hereafter. She was buried at Dunster 
 in November 1668. 
 
 PIPE-HEAD AT 
 EAST QUANTOCKSHEAD.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Luttrells of Dunster 
 1644— 1737. 
 
 George Luttrell, son and successor of Thomas, was 
 baptized at Dunster on the 12th of September 1625. 
 Nothing is known about him in his early years, but 
 it may safely be assumed that his mother would not 
 have allowed him to go to Oxford to mix with young 
 Cavaliers. At the time of his father's death, Dunster 
 Castle was occupied by a royalist garrison, and the 
 manor-house at East Quantockshead was in the pos- 
 session of Lady Skory, no friend to the Luttrells. A 
 smaller house at Marshwood was, however, available 
 for the widow and her children. 
 
 In the middle of May 1645, Charles the First gave 
 orders that the Prince of Wales should take up his 
 residence for a while at Dunster Castle, to "encourage 
 the new levies," it being "not known at Court that 
 the plague, which had driven him from Bristol, was 
 as hot in Dunster town, just under the walls of the 
 Castle. " ^ Clarendon's statement to this effect is 
 strikingly confirmed by the parish register which 
 records the burial of no less than eighty persons at 
 Dunster in that very month. Two of them are 
 described as * soldiers, ' from which it may be inferred 
 that the Castle itself, isolated from the town beneath 
 
 ' Clarendon's History of (he Rebellion, (ed. 1826) vol. v. p. 189.
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 187 
 
 it, was not free from the prevailing sickness. At 
 Minehead the death rate in 1645 was about five times 
 that of a normal year. ^ The inhabitants of a long 
 street in Dunster are said to have established com- 
 munications between their respective houses by making 
 openings in the party walls, " so as to avoid all 
 necessity of going into the open street, " whose air 
 was considered dangerous to life. ^ The Prince, who 
 was then just fifteen years of age, occupied a small 
 room within the room at the south-western end of 
 the Gallery in Dunster Castle. ^ After about a fort- 
 night, he procceeded to Barnstaple. The church- 
 wardens' accounts of Minehead for this year contain 
 the following entries : — 
 
 " Given the ringers in beere at severall tymes when the 
 Prince and other great men came into the towne, 14J. 
 
 " Paid the Prince's footman, which he claymed as due to 
 him for his fee, ^s. dd. " 
 
 At that juncture it might have been imprudent to 
 Ignore the Prince's visit. Less than four months after- 
 wards there is an entry in the same book which 
 reflects more faithfully the state of public opinion at 
 Minehead : — 
 
 " Paid the ringers when BristoU was taken, 35. " 
 
 After the reverses of the Royalist party atLangport, 
 Taunton, and Bridgewater, in the summer of 1645, 
 Dunster Castle remained the only place held for the 
 King in Somerset, but, being isolated, it was harmless 
 except as a source of annoyance to the immediate 
 neighbourhood. As it was desirable to stop even this 
 
 * Savage's Hundred of Carhampton, so serious as to call for charitable aid 
 
 p. 590. from other places in the country. Pro- 
 
 ^ Archaeological Journal, vol. xv. p. ceedings of the Somerset Archceological 
 
 388. There had been a previous out- Society, vol. xxxviii. p. 73. 
 
 break of the plague at Dunster in 1611, ' See Chapter XI.
 
 1 88 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 power, Colonel Blake and Colonel Sydenham, taking 
 a small party from Taunton, laid siege to it early in 
 November, and by the 6th had so completely blocked it 
 that its surrender seemed certain, if it were not taken 
 by surprise. Neither of these expectations was 
 realised, for the besieged held out, although by the 
 end of the month they were said to be straitened for 
 provisions and suffering sadly from want of water. It 
 was reported that Colonel Francis Wyndham, the 
 Governor, about the 20th of November, wrote to 
 Lord Goring, then commanding the King's forces in 
 Devon, that he could hold out but a fortnight or three 
 weeks longer, and that he was only enabled to do that 
 through having secured a good supply of water from 
 some late heavy rains. ^ He at least wrote for aid, as 
 in response, Goring sent some foot to Bideford, to be 
 forwarded to Dunster by sea, and a party of horse 
 was got in readiness to march by land to protect them 
 on arrival. ^ But, not getting their promised pay at 
 Bideford, and finding they were to be out for more 
 than the twenty days agreed for with Lord Hopton, 
 they deserted and ran away. Sir Richard Grenville 
 went after them at once to bring them back, but the 
 plan for this time resulted in failure. ^ The design 
 becoming known. Sir Thomas Fairfax stationed some 
 men to command the road and prevent or check the 
 repetition of any similar attempt. Thus when another 
 party endeavoured to pass early in December, the 
 troops who were guarding the roads about Tiverton 
 and Crediton, encountered them and compelled them 
 to return. ^ 
 
 Meanwhile Colonel Blake had repeatedly summoned 
 the Governor to surrender, but always receiving a 
 
 1 Perfect Passages, No. 56. ^ Moderate Intelligencer, No. 38. 
 
 * Perfect Diurnal, No. 125. * Weekly Account.
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 189 
 
 curt refusal, he had pushed forward his approaches 
 and batteries and worked busily at his mines, as these 
 were " next to determine the business. " ^ A sum- 
 mons was again sent in, this time accompanied by a 
 threat that the Castle would be stormed if it were not 
 surrendered. Colonel Wyndham replied that as he had 
 formerly announced his intention to keep his charge 
 to his utmost, so he was still and would continue 
 semper idem — always the same. 
 
 At the very end of December 1645, or about the 
 I St of January 1646, a story was circulated by the 
 royalist party at Oxford, on the reported authority of 
 two men supposed to have come from Dunster, that 
 the Castle was relieved and the siege raised. The 
 story was that the besiegers, having taken prisoner 
 the Governor's mother, sent in their last summons 
 thus — " If you will yet deliver up the Castle, you 
 shall have faire quarter, if not, expect no mercy ; your 
 mother shall be in the front, to receive the first fury 
 of your canon : we expect your answer. " The 
 Governor is supposed to reply, " If you doe what you 
 threaten, you do the most barbarous and villanous 
 act [that] was ever done ; my mother I honour : but 
 the cause I fight for and the maisters I serve, God 
 and the King, I honour more. Mother, do you for- 
 give me and give me your blessing, and let the 
 Rebells answer for spilling that blood of yours, which 
 I would save with the losse of mine owne, if I had 
 enough for both my master and yourselfe. " To this 
 the mother is supposed to answer, " Sonne, I forgive 
 thee, and pray God to blesse thee for this brave reso- 
 lution ; if I live I shall love thee the better for it ; 
 God's will be done. " The story then adds that just 
 
 • Perfect Occurrences.
 
 I90 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 at this moment there suddenly appeared Lord Went- 
 worth, Sir Richard Grenville, and Colonel Webb, 
 who, attacking the besiegers, killed many, took a 
 thousand prisoners, rescued the mother, and relieved 
 the Castle. ^ 
 
 This report is here quoted from its original source; 
 it has been often repeated since, but it was not true. 
 The siege was not raised, the Castle was not relieved 
 at this time, and the supposed chief actors in the 
 affair were then in Cornwall or on the adjoining 
 borders of Devon. ^ The Parliamentary party soon 
 denounced the report as " alehouse intelligence " and 
 a " feeble lie. " ' 
 
 About the 6th of January 1646, Blake received a 
 reinforcement of fifteen hundred horse, and these he 
 quartered some five or six miles from the Castle, to 
 keep a sharp watch on the Exeter road. * As relief 
 was constantly attempted, these troopers had a very 
 harassing task. The continuance of the siege and the 
 frequent marches and countermarches at this time 
 drew general attention towards Dunster. 
 
 As the Governor seemed determined not to sur- 
 render, Fairfax wrote to order Colonel Blake to 
 proceed with the siege and spring his mines. ^ This 
 he did on the 3rd of January, fully expecting to blow 
 up the Castle. But the garrison, aware of what had 
 been going on, had discovered one mine, and had 
 spoilt it by countermining. Another was not fired 
 or did not spring, whilst the third, although it ex- 
 ploded fairly, only destroyed a part of the wall, 
 causing a considerable breach, but making more noise 
 than execution. ^ The road opened by it was alto- 
 
 ' Mercurius Academicns, No. 3. ■• Moderate Intelligencer, No. 44. 
 
 * Mercurius Civicns, No. 136. ^ Perfect Passages, No. 63. 
 
 * Mercurius Britannicns, No. 114. "^ Moderate Intelligencer, No. 44.
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 191 
 
 gether too steep for approach, and proved so inacces- 
 sible that the intended attack could not be made. 
 To the defenders, however, nov^ very short of neces- 
 saries, the breach proved a great annoyance, as they 
 were put to double duty to keep their guards. In 
 this emergency. Sir Richard Grenville wrote to 
 Colonel Wyndham exhorting him to hold out yet a 
 little longer and promising that help should certainly 
 be sent. ^ Two regiments accordingly set out on the 
 8 th of January, ostensibly to relieve Exeter, but really 
 destined for Dunster. Their plan was either betrayed 
 or discovered by their opponents, for some horse and 
 foot were called from their winter quarters to watch 
 them, and if necessary to go and strengthen Colonel 
 Blake. Seeing that their enemy was thus prepared, 
 and that relief was impossible, the Royalists once more 
 retired, and the blockade of Dunster was continued 
 without interruption until the end of January. 
 
 The King's army being cooped up in Devon, the 
 Parliamentary forces gathering in Somerset concluded 
 that it was certainly trapped. A report, however, 
 now came that Goring intended to break through 
 the ring and get his whole force away. Orders were 
 at once sent for the reserves in the rear to be ready 
 to meet such a movement, and Major-General Massey 
 busied himself with making preparations near Crew- 
 kerne. ' Taking advantage of the attention of the 
 Parliamentary force in Devon being given to this 
 matter, a party of fifteen hundred horse and three 
 hundred foot, sent by Lord Hopton under the com- 
 mand of Colonel Finch, managed to reach Dunster, 
 and on the 5 th of February relieved the Castle with 
 four barrels of powder, thirty cows and fifty sheep. 
 
 • Weekly Account, No. 2. * Perfect Passages, No. 65.
 
 192 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 Having done this, they spoilt the mines and destroyed 
 the works thrown up by the besiegers. Finding the 
 reUeving party too strong for him, Colonel Blake on 
 their arrival retired for protection into " a strong 
 house ", possibly the Ship Inn, and remained there 
 unmolested. As they left for Barnstaple, however, he 
 sallied out on their rear and took fifty-three prisoners, 
 but in turn got himself into an awkward position, 
 from which he had some difficulty in making an 
 honourable retreat without great loss. ^ 
 
 A report was now circulated that the owner of the 
 Castle, and others had offered to raise a thousand men 
 to help the Parliamentary army in the west, ^ but 
 Blake determined to continue the blockade until he 
 could be strongly reinforced from the main army. 
 From his local information he may have judged that 
 this would soon be possible, as not long afterwards 
 Exeter fell. Sir Thomas Fairfax then, with his usual 
 energy, quickly moved off for fresh work, and on the 
 8 th of April his army was camped around Chard, 
 from whence he sent Colonel Lambert's regiment to 
 strengthen the force before Dunster. ^ 
 
 Colonel Blake had gone to meet the General, when, 
 on Thursday night, the 1 6th of April, those in the 
 Castle called to Captain Burridge, who was left in 
 command, to know whether it were true, as some of 
 his soldiers had stated, that Exeter and Barnstaple 
 had both fallen. Captain Burridge " hearkening " to 
 what was said, they asked to be allowed to send to 
 Barnstaple for confirmation of the news, promising 
 that if it were true they would capitulate. The 
 Captain answered " that he would not by any false way 
 
 ' Perject Passages, No. 68 ; A Diary, ^ Moderate Intelligencer, No. 50. 
 
 No. 3 ; Moderate, Intelligencer, No. 49 ; ^ /^^^ ]vjq_ ^g 
 
 The Citties Weekly Post, No. 9.
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 193 
 
 of smooth language goe about to begge their castle, " 
 and offered himself as a hostage if they would give 
 one of like rank whilst they sent for intelligence. He 
 declared himself willing to forfeit his life if what he 
 had said was not true, provided they would agree to 
 surrender on a day named if all the news were con- 
 firmed. Weak and reduced as the garrison now was, 
 and barely able to defend more than the keep, this 
 conversation " wrought so much upon them " that on 
 Friday morning a request was again made for leave to 
 send for intelligence. Notice having meantime arrived 
 that Blake was returning, Captain Burridge desired 
 them to have a little patience, inasmuch as they should 
 get an answer from the Colonel himself. About noon 
 Blake arrived, having with him Major-General Skip- 
 pon's regiment and the remainder of his own. This 
 force he drew up in two bodies on a hill facing the 
 Castle, and, in accordance with orders given by Fairfax, 
 he sent in another summons for surrender. ^ Deprived 
 of all hope of relief, Colonel Wyndham in reply 
 demanded a parley, the result of which was that, after 
 having sustained a close siege of about a hundred and 
 sixty days, with a loss of twenty men, he surrendered 
 on the 19th of April, on the following conditions: — 
 
 " I. That the Castle, together with the armes, ammuni- 
 tion, and other ferniture of war (except what is hereunder 
 excepted), be delivered up into the hands of the said Colonel 
 Blake for his Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax, to the use of 
 the King and Parliament. 
 
 2. That all Commissioners Officers in the Castle shall 
 march away with horses and armes and all other necessary 
 accouterments appertaining. 
 
 3. That common officers and souldiers, both horse and 
 foot, shall march away with their armes and either horse or 
 foot souldier shall have three charges of powder and bullet, 
 
 ' Sir Thomas Fairfax's further proceedings in the west.
 
 194 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 with three yards of match, for those that have matchlocks, 
 together with colours and drums. 
 
 4. That the said Colonell Windham shall carry with him 
 all that is properly his, and that which doth properly belong 
 to the Lady Windham shall be sent to her. 
 
 5. That all officers and souldiers with all particular persons 
 of the Castle shall march forth secure, as many as will, to 
 Oxford without delay, and those who are otherwise minded 
 shall lay down their armes and have Let-passes to their 
 homes, or to any other places they shall desire with protection 
 against the violence of the soldiers. 
 
 6. That prisoners to either party be released. 
 
 7. That the said Colonell Francis Windham and his 
 souldiers march to Oxford in twelve daies. " ^ 
 
 Under this agreement the Castle was delivered up 
 on the 22nd of April. Six pieces of ordnance and 
 two hundred stand of arms were all the booty found 
 within it. Colonel Blake, writing from Taunton, on 
 the 2ist of April, to report the event to the Parlia- 
 ment, remarked that, at the price of time and blood, 
 he could no doubt have obtained very different terms, 
 but that he was induced to accept these, by his wish 
 to follow the exemplary clemency of his general. 
 " The place, " he said, was " strong and of importance 
 for the passage into Ireland. " ^ A public thanks- 
 giving was now ordered for the many and continued 
 successes of the Parliamentary forces, Dunster being 
 named in the list of places whose capture deserved 
 especial emphasis. ' Minehead, too, rejoiced that her 
 disagreeable neighbour had fallen, and " paid the 
 ringers when Dunster Castle was yeelded up " four 
 shillings and eight pence. * 
 
 A few of Blake's cannon balls have been unearthed 
 on the Tor in recent years. His principal battery was, 
 
 ' Merctirius Civicus, No. 152 ; Four ^ Perfect Diurnal, No. 144. 
 
 Strong Castles taken, &c. ♦ Hancock's Minehead, p. 70. 
 
 * Mercuriiis Civicus, No. 152.
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 195 
 
 it is believed, behind the house now called the Luttrell 
 Arms Hotel. Another may have been on the north 
 side of the town, as a ball, presumably fired by the 
 defenders of the Castle, was found in the roof of the 
 church some thirty years ago. 
 
 John Question of Dunster, surgeon, was in 1647 
 subjected to a fine of 100/. for espousing the Royalist 
 cause, but the amount was eventually reduced to i o/. 
 in consideration of the gratuitous services which he 
 had rendered to sick and hurt soldiers serving under 
 Colonel Blake during the siege. ^ 
 
 A garrison was maintained at Dunster Castle for 
 more than five years after its surrender to Blake. 
 Thus, in October 1 649, it was proposed to place 2,000 
 foot of Somerset in Bridgewater and Dunster Castle. ^ 
 George Luttrell, although apparently allowed to live 
 in his own house, was made to feel that he was not 
 supreme there, the defences being in the hands of a 
 military governor, Major William Robinson. ^ On 
 the 25th of March 1650, nearly fourteen months 
 after the execution of Charles the First, the Council 
 of State resolved : — 
 
 " That it be referred to the Committee which conferrs 
 with the Officers of the Armie to consider whether or noe 
 Dunster Castle and Taunton Castle, or either of them, are fitt 
 to be demolished, and to report to the Councell their opin- 
 ions therein. " * 
 
 On the 6th of May, twelve barrels of gunpowder 
 were issued " for the supply of Taunton and Dunster 
 Castle, " and, on the 25 th of the same month, a further 
 demand of the Governor of Dunster Castle for arms 
 and ammunition was referred to the Committee of the 
 
 ' Calendar of Committee for advance ^ Ibid. 1649-1650, p. 394. 
 
 of money, p. 815. ■• S. P. Dom. Interregnum. I. 64. f. 
 
 ■ Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, 120. 
 1648-1649, p. 300.
 
 196 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 Ordnance. ^ The following resolutions are entered in 
 the order-book of the Council of State for the year 
 1650 :— 
 
 6 June. " That a letter bee written to Colonell Desbrow, 
 to let him know that this Councell leaves it to him to put 
 in such number of men into Dunster and Taunton Castles as 
 hee shall thinke fit to secure them. " ^ 
 
 5 August. " That it bee refered to the Committee which 
 meets with the Officers of the Armie to take into consider- 
 ation the present condition of Dunster Castle, and to report 
 to the Councel their opinions what they thinke fitt to bee 
 done therein, either as to the makeing it untenable or re- 
 pairing of it. " ^ 
 
 10 August. "At the Committee for Marshall Affaires. 
 Ordered that the Committee, haveing seriously considered 
 the present state of the guarrison at Dunster Castle, and 
 finding that the makeing of it every way teneable against an 
 enemy will require a great summe of money which they con- 
 ceive the Councell at present cannot well spare, conceive 
 it necessary that the said guarrison be drawne to Taunton, 
 and that the Castle be soe farre slighted as that it may not be 
 made suddainely teneable by an enemy, and that it be referred 
 to Major General! Desbrow to the Commissioners of the 
 Militia for the county to see this done and to send an account 
 thereof to the Councell. " * 
 
 The vv^ork of destruction was set in hand without 
 delay, a rate being levied in Somerset " for pulling 
 downe Dunster Castle. " ^ A communication written 
 on the spot on the 27th of August says : — 
 
 " Here hath been above two hundred men working at 
 this Castle these twelve daies about sleighting the same, 
 which is almost finished except the dwelling-house of Mr. 
 Lutterell and the Gatehouse, according to order of the 
 Councel of State. " '^ 
 
 1 S. p. Dom. Interregnum. I. 64. ff. * Ibid. f. 70. 
 
 312, 389. 4 Savage's History of the Hundred of 
 
 * Ibid. {. 426. Carhampton, p. 436. 
 
 * Ibid. I. 8. f. 49. 6 ^ Perfect Diurnal, no. 38.
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 197 
 
 The preservation of such parts of the fabric as still 
 remain is due to a resolution of the Council of State 
 on the 20th of August, v^hich arrived rather late : — 
 
 " To write to Major Robinson that Dunster Castle be 
 continued in the condition it is till further order of the 
 Councell, and that there bee twenty or thertie chozen men 
 there for the defence thereof. " ^ 
 
 Six months later we read : — 
 
 " George, son and heire to Thomas, succeded him in his 
 estate. His castle of Dunster and estate being in the 
 enimies' hands at his father's death, he enjoyed little thereof 
 till reduced. The walles of his castle of Dunster, Mount 
 Stweevens and a fair new building therin were totally de- 
 molished and his gatehouse much defaced, by an order from 
 Whitehall under Mr. Bradshaw his hand, and another from 
 the Malitica, without and before any notice, veiw or re- 
 compence, August 8, 1650, to about 3000/. dammages, to 
 save the charge of a garrison, and his very mantioned house 
 at first advise to be puld down by the MaHticia, but after- 
 wards countermanded, and twenty souldiers put into his 
 house to gaurd Mr. Prynne close prisoner there. 
 
 " His wife is now pregnant. God send her a sonn and 
 heir, a joyfuU delivery and numerous happy posterity, to 
 perpetiate the family and name with onner and happines, to 
 God's glory and the publick welfare of the country and 
 kingdom in their successive genarations till the second com- 
 ing of Jesus Christ, which is the cordiall option and fervent 
 prayer of the collector of this pedigree. Febr. 1 8, anno 1 650. 
 
 Will. Prynne, Esq. " ^ 
 
 The writer of this was one of the chief pamphlet- 
 eers of his time. Few sentences of the Court of 
 StarChamber had done so much to bring it into dis- 
 repute as those by which William Prynne had been 
 condemned to lose both his ears in the pillory, and to 
 be branded on the cheeks with the letters 'S.L.' mean- 
 
 ' S.P. Dom. Interregnum, I.9. f. 13. * D.C.M. xxxviii. 100.
 
 198 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 ing ' Seditious Libeller. ' He had taken some re- 
 venge on the Government of Charles the First by 
 hounding Archbishop Laud to the scaffold, but he 
 had protested against the execution of the King and 
 had written pamphlets denouncing the regime that had 
 been substituted for the monarchy. 
 
 On the 25th of June 1650, the Council of State 
 issued a warrant for the apprehension of William 
 Prynne for writing and practising against the Com- 
 monwealth, and for his confinement at Dunster Castle, 
 where nobody was to be allowed to confer with him 
 except in the presence of his gaoler. ^ Finding that 
 the muniments of George Luttrell were in a " con- 
 fused chaos, " he employed his time in making an 
 arrangement of them according to localities, which 
 has been maintained to the present time. He also 
 compiled a general calendar of them, at the end of 
 which there is a characteristic note that it was made 
 " by William Prynne of Swainswick, Esq. in the 
 eight months of his illegall, causeless, close impris- 
 onment in Dunster Castle by Mr. Bradshaw and his 
 companions at Whitehall, Feb. 18, Anno Dom. 1650, 
 2 Car. IL " The obstinacy of the man is shown by 
 his reference to the regnal year of a prince in exile. 
 From Dunster, he was that year removed to Taunton, 
 and thence to Pendennis Castle. ^ Soon after the 
 Restoration, he was appointed Keeper of the Records 
 at the Tower of London. ^ 
 
 The following letters show the ultimate decision of 
 the Council of State with respect to Dunster Castle : — 
 
 " To the Commissioners of the Militia of the County of 
 Somerset. 
 
 Gentlemen. Although there appeare not much at present 
 
 ' S.P. Dom. Interregnum, 1.64. f. 481. ^Dictionary of National Biography, 
 
 * /6irf. 1.96. f. 253. vol. xlvi.
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 199 
 
 of any stirring of the enemy, yet Wee have sure information 
 that they have designes on foot at present of great danger 
 to the Commonwealth and particularly in those parts ; to 
 prevent which Wee think it necessary that such places as are 
 not yet made untenable should have some strength put into 
 them to prevent the enemyes' surprize. And Wee being 
 informed that Dunster Castle, the house of Mr. Lutterell, 
 is yet in condition that if it be seized by the enemy might 
 prove dangerous, Wee therefore desire you to appoint some 
 Militia forces to prevent the surprize of it, till there may be 
 some course taken to make it untenable, or that the state of 
 affairs may not be subject to the like danger as now they are. 
 
 Whitehall, 25 March 1651. " ^ 
 " To Major General Desborowe. 
 
 Sir. Wee are informed from Major Robinson, Govern- 
 our of Taunton and Dunster Castle, that the forces remayn- 
 ing in those garrisons are not sufficient to enable him to 
 preserve the same for the service of the state. Wee there- 
 fore desire you to consider those places and the forces in 
 them, and in what you find those forces defective to make 
 supply thereof, that the Governour may be able to give a 
 good accompt thereof to the Commonwealth. 
 
 Whitehall, 20 Male 1651. "' 
 " To George Lutterell, Esq. of Dunster Castle. 
 
 Sir. Wee conceive it hath been some prejudice to you 
 that your house hath been still continued a garrison, which 
 Wee are willing you should be freed from, soe as the 
 Commonwealth may be assured from danger by it. And 
 Wee doubt not but you will bee carefuU to keepe the place 
 from the enemies' surprise in respect of your interest in it. 
 But that Wee may be able to give the Commonwealth 
 a good accompt of that place upon the remove of that gar- 
 rison, Wee hold fit that you enter recognizance before two 
 justices of the peace with two suretyes to the Keepers of the 
 Liberty of the Commonwealth of England, yourself in 6000/. 
 and 3000/. each of your suretyes. The condition to bee that 
 you shall not suffer any use to be made of your said house 
 of Dunster Castle to the prejudice of the Commonwealth 
 
 ' S.P. DoiTi. Interregnum, 196. f. 73. ' Ibid. f. 193.
 
 200 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 and present Government, which being done, Wee have given 
 order to Major Generall Desborow to draw off the men that 
 are in the same castle and dispose of them as Wee have 
 given order. Wee have had information of designes upon 
 that your Castle, the prevention of the operation whereof 
 hath occasioned our putting of a guard there ; and having 
 now put it into this way wherein Wee have had regard of 
 your conveniency. Wee expect you to be careful of what 
 besides your particular herein, concerns the interest of the 
 publique. Whitehall, 27 Maii 1651."^ 
 
 On the same day, Major-General Desborow was 
 instructed to draw off the twenty men who were 
 quartered at Dunster Castle as soon as George Luttrell 
 should have entered into the recognisances prescribed. 
 
 The Government afterwards became so well satis- 
 fied of George Luttrell's loyalty to the Commonwealth 
 as to appoint him Sheriff of Somerset, in November 
 1652.' A half-length portrait of Oliver Cromwell 
 in armour, by Robert Walker, still hangs in the hall 
 at Dunster Castle. 
 
 George Luttrell married firstly Elizabeth, daughter 
 of Nicholas Prideaux of Soldon, in Devonshire. The 
 expected heir, for whom Prynne had expressed such 
 solicitude, was born at Dunster on the i8th of April 
 1 65 I, but lived only a short time, being baptized by 
 the name of George on the 6th of May and buried 
 on the same day. Mrs. Luttrell died on the 22nd 
 of May 1652, and was buried at Dunster the same 
 evening. A few weeks later, on the 15th of July, 
 George Luttrell married her cousin Honora, daughter 
 of John Fortescue of Buckland Filleigh, in Devonshire. 
 As a memorial of their wedding, they gave to the 
 church of Buckland Filleigh a silver flagon bearing 
 their arms, which is still in use. George Luttrell 
 
 ' S. p. Dom. Interregnum, 196. f. 202. ' List of Sheriffs, p. 125. 
 
 - Ibid. I. 203.
 
 CH.vi. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 201 
 
 died in 1655, at the age of thirty, without issue. A 
 large sum was expended on his burial, Henry Prigg 
 of Exeter charging loi/. for cloth, and Edward 
 Foxwell of the same city charging no less than 159/. 
 " for wines for the funerall." Honora, the widow, 
 hved at Exeter. 
 
 Francis Luttrell, son of Thomas and brother of 
 George succeeded. Of his early years nothing is 
 known except that he was baptized at Dunster on the 
 ist of November 1628 and admitted a member of 
 Lincoln's Inn in 1646. On the last day of March 
 1660, he was returned for the neighbouring borough 
 of Minehead to the Parliament which effected the 
 Restoration. He was similarly returned in the fol- 
 lowing spring and he sat until his death in 1666. 
 There was in his time a project of instituting an 
 ' Order of the Royal Oak ' to commemorate the loyalty 
 of the faithful adherents of the House of Stuart, but 
 the King eventually abandoned it as likely to perpet- 
 uate political dissensions. A list of suitable persons 
 had, however, been prepared, county by county, and 
 among the fifteen nominated from Somerset we find 
 Francis Luttrell, who was reputed to have an income 
 of 1500/. ^ Considering that his relations, Luttrells 
 and Pophams alike, had been Roundheads, the inclus- 
 ion of his name among those of noted Cavaliers, like 
 Stawell, Berkeley and Gorges, seems strange, but the 
 demolition of the greater part of Dunster Castle by 
 order of the Council of State after the Civil War was 
 over, may have caused a change in his politics. 
 
 Francis Luttrell's wife, Lucy, came also of a Round- 
 head family, being the daughter of Thomas Symonds 
 
 ' Wotton's English Baronetage (ed. 5th Series, vol. iv. pp. 49, 151, 238. 
 174 1), vol. iv. p. 374 ; Notes and Queries,
 
 202 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 of Whittlesford, in Cambridgeshire, and the grand- 
 daughter of John Pym, the great ParHamentary leader. 
 The couple may have met at Charles Pym's house at 
 Brymore, near Bridgewater. The marriage took place 
 on the 8th of October 1655, ^^ Buckland Monach- 
 orum in Devonshire, where the bride must have been 
 staying w^ith her aunt. Lady Drake. Four years 
 later, Francis Luttrell made an elaborate settlement 
 with a view to preserving his estates in his own 
 " name and blood, " and accordingly conveyed to 
 trustees the castle, manor, and borough of Dunster, 
 the manors of Carhampton Barton, Minehead, Rod- 
 huish, Kilton, East Quantockshead, Withycombe 
 Hadley, Williton Hadley, Vexford and Heathfield 
 Durborough, the priory of Dunster, the hundred of 
 Carhampton, the parks of Dunster, Marshwood and 
 Quantockshead, Marshwood farm, and lands in those 
 and other neighbouring places. These were settled on 
 him for life with successive remainders in tail male to 
 his own sons, to Hugh Luttrell of Rodhuish, gentle- 
 man, George Luttrell, gentleman, son of George 
 Luttrell, clerk, Francis Luttrell of Gray's Inn, esquire, 
 Anthony Luttrell of Hartland, esquire, and Southcote 
 Luttrell of Saunton Court, esquire, with the exception 
 of the manor of Heathfield and lands at Venn, Cot- 
 ford and Norton Fitzwarren, which were reserved for 
 his second son Francis. ^ 
 
 There are few memorials of the first Francis Lut- 
 trell beyond legal documents and bills. In 1663, he 
 paid no less than 4/. for " a smale great sadle for a 
 child, of pinck coulored plush trimed with silver lace." 
 At another time a " box of sweetmeates " cost him 
 7/. i6j. In 1665, the price of sherry and sack alike 
 
 ' Legal common-place book belong- C.B. f. 33. 
 ing to Mr. C. E. H. Chadvvyck Healey,
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 203 
 
 was 5 J. per gallon. The price of claret ranged from 
 4/. 6/. 8^. to 4/. I 3J-. 4^. per ' tearce, ' the tearce being 
 a third of a pipe. 
 
 Francis Luttrell was buried at Dunster on the 14th 
 of March 1666. By Lucy his wife, who survived, 
 he left issue three sons, Thomas, Francis, and Alex- 
 ander, each of whom in turn succeeded to his landed 
 estate. The widow, however, was the actual manager 
 of it for some fourteen years. 
 
 On the death of Jane Luttrell of Marshwood in 
 1668, Lucy Luttrell of Dunster became involved in 
 suits at the Somerset Assizes, in the Court of Ex- 
 chequer, and in the Chancery, on behalf of her young- 
 est son, Alexander, commonly called ' Sany. ' The 
 old grandmother had undertaken to provide for the 
 boy and had duly made a will in his favour. ^ " She 
 hoped to make Sany almost as good a man as his 
 elder brother ; saying that if his elder brother invited 
 him to dinner, he should be able to invite his elder 
 brother to supper. " She seems to have been of a 
 miserly disposition, for, instead of buying land or 
 otherwise investing her money, she amassed " a great 
 treasure of gold, silver, &c. " at Marshwood. In 1 667, 
 the country people at Stoke Courcy apprehended nine 
 persons well horsed and armed, who confessed before 
 the magistrates a design of robbing her house. At 
 her death, however, only i 50/. were found there out 
 of about 10,000/. that she was believed to have hoard- 
 ed. At the instigation of Lucy Luttrell, two of the 
 servants were indicted of felony, and at a later stage, 
 she charged her own sister-in-law Amy and her hus- 
 band, George Reynell, with having caused large sums 
 of money in bags to be secretly removed from Marsh- 
 
 • Brown's Somersetshire Wills, vol. vi. p. i8.
 
 204 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 wood. ' The Reynells were eventually condemned 
 in 6000/. with 200/. costs, and George Reynell was im- 
 prisoned successively in the Fleet and the Marshalsea. 
 After his escape from the latter, Lucy Luttrell sued 
 the Marshal and Keeper of the gaol and obtained 
 iudgment for the 6,200/. 
 
 Lucy Luttrell survived until Christmas Eve 171 8, 
 and was buried at Dunster on the 7th of January 1 7 1 9. 
 
 Thomas Luttrell, eldest son of Francis and Lucy, 
 was baptized at Dunster on the 19th of March 1657, 
 but he died under age and was buried there on the 
 20th of July 1670. 
 
 Francis Luttrell, second son of Francis and Lucy, 
 was baptized at Dunster on the i6th of June 1659. 
 He matriculated at Christ Church in March 1676, 
 but left Oxford without a degree. While he was an 
 undergraduate, there was an idea of buying a peerage 
 for him. Anthony Wood notes under the date of 
 26 October 1678 : — 
 
 " I was told from Sir Thomas Spencer's house that the 
 King hath given Dr. Fell, Bishop of Oxon, a patent for an 
 Earl (which comes to about 1000/.) towards the finishing of 
 the great gate of Christ Church next to Pembroke College. 
 He intends to bestow it on Mr. Lutterell, a gentleman com- 
 moner of Christ Church, of Somersetshire, having 4000/. per 
 annum at present. " ^ 
 
 Francis Luttrell's income was certainly overstated, 
 and nothing came of the scheme. While he was 
 still under age, he was, in February 1679, returned to 
 Parliament as one of the members for Minehead, and, 
 
 ' state Papers, Charles H. vol. 192, * Wood's Life and Times, vol. ii. p. 
 
 no. 118 ; vol. 229, no. 151; vol. 272, no. 421. 
 148.
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 205 
 
 being re-elected at the next four elections, he contin- 
 ued to represent that borough until his death. ^ 
 
 On the 1 5 th of July 1 680, a few weeks after attain- 
 ing his majority, Francis Luttrell married a beautiful 
 lady, Mary, daughter and heiress of John Tregonwell 
 of Milton Abbas in Dorset. She was wealthy too, 
 having an independent income of 2,500/. a year, the 
 capital value of which she estimated at 50,000/. 
 
 Ten months after his marriage, Francis Luttrell 
 was appointed by the Earl of Winchilsea, Lord Lieu- 
 tenant of Somerset, to be Colonel of a regiment of foot 
 in succession to Sir Halswell Tynte, and he was in 
 command of the local forces when the Duke of 
 Monmouth landed at Lyme in June 1685. * In this 
 emergency he had recourse to his wife. It had been 
 his habit to give her a guinea or broad piece of gold 
 whenever any of his tenants paid a fine for the renewal 
 of a lease, and so she had accumulated about 500/. at 
 Dunster Castle. From this hoard she then withdrew 
 about 200/. for his assistance. ^ He was, however, 
 obliged to evacuate Taunton on the approach of the 
 Duke, who there assumed the title of King. 
 
 On the third day after the battle of Sedgemoor, the 
 churchwardens of Dunster paid 71. td. to the ringers 
 " upon the rout of Monmouth. " The churchward- 
 ens and the overseers alike incurred a small expense 
 in " presenting the rebells " at Stogumber, and three 
 men were hanged at Dunster after the " Bloody 
 Assizes. " 
 
 In the later part of the short reign of James the 
 Second, Francis Luttrell was no longer to be reckoned 
 as one of his supporters. In 1687, he declined to 
 
 > Return of Members of Parliament. ^ chancery Proceedings, Mitford 538, 
 
 * Historical MSB. Commission, Re- no. 2. 
 port iii. p. 96.
 
 2o6 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 vote for the repeal of the penal laws, and he was one 
 of the first men of importance to join the standard of 
 the Prince of Orange at Exeter in November 1688. ^ 
 Receiving from him a commission to raise an inde- 
 pendent company of foot, he applied himself to the 
 task with such energy that he collected the necessary 
 men in the course of three days, and he maintained 
 them at his own expense for a fortnight. The local 
 tradesmen, however, took advantage of his haste, and 
 charged him 1,500/. for clothes which soon proved 
 worthless. ^ In the following February, several com- 
 panies were amalgamated into a regular regiment of 
 the line, and he was appointed to be its first Colonel. 
 Most of the officers belonged to families well known 
 in Somerset and Devon such as Northcote, Malet, 
 Bowyer, Wyndham, Coward, Dodington, Prater, 
 Sydenham, Stocker and Hancock. After going for 
 a time to Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, the 
 regiment took up its quarters at Plymouth. At a later 
 period, it became known as the 'Nineteenth Foot,' and 
 associated with Yorkshire. ^ A number of old match- 
 locks branded with the initials " F.L. " are still 
 preserved at Dunster Castle. There is also there an 
 oval portrait of Francis Luttrell in a large brown 
 periwig, with military lace tie and a steel gorget with 
 gilt rivets. 
 
 Colonel Luttrell and his wife used to spend very 
 large sums on clothes for themselves, their children, 
 and their servants. A series of bills rendered by 
 William Franklyn of the parish of Covent Garden, 
 tailor, is interesting as illustrating the history of 
 costume and showing in detail the cost of different 
 
 ^ Green sMarchofWillJamo/Orange, i. p. i68. 
 pp. 29, 32, 48, 57. s Cannon's Historical Record of the 
 
 * Calendar of Treasury Papers, vol. Nineteenth Regiment.
 
 COL. FRANCIS lA TTRELL.
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 207 
 
 materials, at a time when the purchasing power of 
 money was much greater than it is now. As will 
 be seen by the extracts to be given below, the tailor 
 and the seamstress got comparatively little for their 
 labour. 
 
 168 1, August. " Making a rich laced cloath suite, i/. i Ss. 
 Silk and galloone, ^s. A pair of scarlett silk stockings with 
 gold, i/. 155. Buckles to the britches, 35. 6^. Silk to line 
 the britches, I oj. Pocketts and staying tape, 3 j 6^. A sett 
 of rich gold buttons, 2/. 14^.6^. Rich gold brest buttons, 4^.6^. 
 Fine drawing the suite, 3J. 6^. 2^ yards of superfine gray 
 cloth, 2/. 1 2 J. 6^. Buckram and canvas, is. 3^. 5 J yards of 
 rich Florence sattin, to line the coate, 4/. 14J. Scarlett plaine 
 ribbon, i/. 5J. 4 yards rich gold and scarlett ribbon, 6/. ^s. 
 18 yards rich gold orar lace for coate and britches, 18/. 
 Gold chaine to the suite, 14J. 9^. Rich gold needle for the 
 gloves, 10/. 5 J. A pair of gloves, makeing and faceing, gs. 
 A scarlett fether, i/. 8j. Rich needle gold fring fora scarffe, 
 35/. 5^. Silk for the scarffe and makeing itt, iSs. " 
 
 In March 1682, there are charges for "a light 
 coUoured cloath suite, " made of " superfine Spanish 
 cloath att 20s. per yard, " on which were no less than 
 "12 dozen of rich gold buttons at 41. 6^. per dozen, " 
 besides " gold buttons for the britches " costing 3J-. 6d. 
 On the same day, Franklyn supplied " a sad colloured 
 suite, " which also had " 12 dozen of rich gold 
 buttons " as before, and " 5 dozen of gold brest ditto 
 for wast [coat] and britches, " the latter evidently 
 small and costing only i os. or 2s. a dozen. The " sad 
 colloured gold and silver ribbon for shoulder and 
 sword " cost 2/. I oj. " Rich broad gold orace lace 
 for the wast [coat] and hands of the coate " cost 7/. 
 
 Some three weeks later, particulars are given of 
 " a druggitt suite. " The material cost only ^s. a 
 yard, but it must have been narrow, as eight yards 
 were required. A similar quantity was used a month
 
 2o8 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 later in making "a stuffe suite" but the "fine stufFe" 
 cost gs. 9^. a yard. On this there were " 1 1 dozen 
 of silver and silk buttons" costing i/. iSs. td. and 
 " 3 J dozen of small buttons " costing \s. 6d. " A sett 
 of figured i od. ribbon for sword, shoulder and hand 
 knotts, " belonging to it, cost 3/. 4J. and " 2 dozen 
 of pinck and green \6d. ribbon cost i/. 12s. " 
 
 In August, Colonel Luttrell ordered another " stufFe 
 suite, " and in October another " cloath suite, " made 
 of " fine Spanish cloath att 20s. per yard. " " A long 
 wastcoate " to be worn with the latter required 4^ 
 yards of " Florence sattin " at 1 3J. per yard. In 
 November, he had " a cloath rideing coate " made of 
 " fine Spanish drabdebery ^ att 20j-. per yard, " lined 
 with " blew fine rateene, " and ornamented with " larg 
 silver plate buttons" that cost 3/. los. 
 
 In April 1683, Colonel Luttrell ordered two suits. 
 One of them was made of " light cloath " at 20s. a 
 yard and had " gold and silver buttons " costing i /. 1 6s. 
 and silver trimmings. The other was made of " fine 
 stufii^, " apparently very narrow, costing js. a yard. 
 In July, he ordered a coat of " gray cloath " at 16/. a 
 yard, lined with " Florence sarcenett, " and a pair 
 of " bufFe britches. " 
 
 By 1685, male costume seems to have become rath- 
 er simpler, the number and cost of buttons having been 
 greatly reduced. A coat made in November of that 
 year of " fine French ratteen " at 20/. a yard, had 
 facings of striped satin to the " hands, " or cuffs. The 
 breeches worn with it were of " black floward velvet. " 
 A " cloath suite " made in the same month had only 
 a few " silke buttons " costing 8j. and the stockings 
 were only of " wosted. " On the other hand, the 
 
 ' Drap de Berry, woollen cloth as made in Berry in France.
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 209 
 
 waistcoat required " 5J- yards of blew Florence dam- 
 ask " costing 3/. IIS. bd. and there was 5/. worth 
 of gold lace on it and on the " cuffs " of the coat. 
 A drugget coat made in June 1686 was worn over a 
 silk waistcoat trimmed with broad silver lace costing 
 2/. loj". and breeches of " rich damaske " of colours 
 unspecified. A riding coat of " drabdubery " had 
 velvet facings to the sleeves and the neck. 
 
 In September 1687, Colonel Luttrell had a coat of 
 " fine Segovia serge " adorned with " rich black and 
 gold lace, " a waistcoat of " scarlet ratteene, " breeches 
 of " rich Scarlett velvett, " and a pair of fine worsted 
 stockings. In January 1689, he had a coat of fine 
 blue cloth, lined with " black rasdejane, " a " black 
 ratteene wastcoat " and breeches of "black flowered 
 velvett. " The buttons were of black silk and inex- 
 pensive. A waistcoat of white and gold silk cost 
 17/. IS. 3^., in April, 1689, the material alone being 
 reckoned at 55/. a yard. In that month there were 
 extra charges on a uniform apparently supplied by 
 the Government: — 
 
 " To pay for the lineing of your imbroydered coat, being 
 of richer sattin and much better than the lineing of the other 
 officers i/. 6j. To pay for blew cloth for your coat, being 
 much better than the other officers, \os. " 
 
 In June, Franklyn himself supplied a coat of scar- 
 let cloth, adorned with " 9 dozen rich double water 
 gilt buttons " at \os. a dozen, a waistcoat of " India 
 camlett " " with loops all over " of blue and gold, 
 and velvet breeches. The following items occur at 
 various dates between 1681 and 1689 : — 
 
 " A morning gowne, 4/. lis. 
 6 pair of the best jessimy gloves, 15J. 
 A set of sterling plate buttons, 5/. 
 A dozen of carr whips, i /. 65.
 
 2IO A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 6 hunting whips, i2s. 
 
 A leading pike with a gold head, i/. 12s. 
 
 A pattison (i.e. partizan), i/. Ss. 
 
 A gold sword, 3/. js. 
 
 2 lace cravatts and ruffles, 13/. lOJ. 
 
 2 pair of stifned gloves faced, 12s. 
 
 A white bever, 3/. 4;. 6^. 
 
 A black French hat edged with gold, and a gold hat-band, i ys. 
 
 A black French hat, plaine, ip. 
 
 Laid out in receiving a thousand pounds for you, iL 
 
 A gold belt, 2/. I ys. 6d. 
 
 4 pair of fine gloves, 1 55. 6d, 
 
 2 pair of perfumed gloves, 1 9J. 6d. 
 
 3 fine long lace cravatts, 10/. 
 
 A black bever, 3 guinneyes, 3/. 4J. 6^. 
 
 A Venetian morning gowne lined with blew sattin, cap, 
 
 and sleeppers, 7/. 
 
 2 pair of doeskin gloves,6j. Trimming them and faceing, 3J. 
 A lead combe, 2s. 
 
 A rich gould neckcloth, i/. is. 6d. Two wrought gould 
 dittos, i/. 
 
 3 fine whipps, i/. lOJ. 
 3 cane whipps, lOJ. 
 
 A black Carolina hatt and band, 135. 
 A case of French rasors, i/. is. 6d. 
 Haifa pound of snuffe, i/. 8j. 
 
 Franklyn's bills for goods supplied to Mrs. Lutt- 
 rell begin about the time of the birth of her eldest 
 daughter. The following are some of the items : — 
 
 1 68 1, October 10. "A suite of lace childbed linen, 
 mantle and apron, 10/. Broad fine lace, 61. los. 7 yards 
 broad fine lace, 305. per yard, 10/. ioj. 6 yards of broad 
 
 fine lace att 22j. per yard, 61. I2s. 
 
 A bone lace night raile, 61. 6s. A cornet and coife, 6/. 55. 
 A childbed suite of fine hoUand, i/. A pair of bone lace 
 ruffles, 2/. 
 
 A silver porringer and spoone, i/. 55. 
 Another suite of fine lace linnen, 61. los. 
 Damask and diaper for clouts, 1 2/. 1 55.
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 211 
 
 A lace Holland wastcoate, 3/. 12s. 
 
 Damask mantle sleeves night wastcoate, cap and rowlers, 
 
 2/. i^s. 
 
 A pair of rich silk bodyes and sleeves, 2/. i 8j. 
 
 Paid for the cradle, bolster, pillow, and quilt of white 
 
 imbroidered sattin, 16/. 
 
 A white sattin bed quilt, 3/. los. 
 
 An allamode hood, ^s. 
 
 A rich gold fringe for a petticoate, ill. los. 
 
 6| yards of lace for the tylight (/. e. toilette), at i8j. per 
 
 yard, 6/. is. dd. 
 
 18 yards of rich white sattin and gold floured silk for the 
 
 gowne and pettycoate at 265. per yard, 23/. 8j. Making the 
 
 gowne and pettycoate, lis. 
 
 Cherry coUoured manto to line the gowne, il. is. 6d. 
 
 3 yards of cherry and gold flowred silk for the twylight 
 
 (/. e. toilette), at 3 35. per yard, 4/. 19J. 
 
 3^ yards of rich cherry gold and silver flowred silk for a 
 
 mantle, at 385. per yard, 61. 35. Florence sarcenett to line 
 
 all three mantles, 3/. White Florence sattin to make a 
 
 mantle, 4/. 6s. Makeing the two mantles and tweelight with 
 
 broad lace, i/. 
 
 A pair of silk sleepers, 8j. 6d. 
 
 Flourishes for pointe, lu. " 
 
 October 11. "2 yards of lace for a pillowber, il. 12s. 
 A chest of drawers. Prince wood, 4/. los. 
 7 J yards of silver lace, 13 J. per yard, 4/. 145. 3<^. " 
 
 1682, January 2. "A fine cornett {i.e. coronet), 8j. 
 2 papers of patches, 2j. 
 A flowred roule, 45. 
 A crimson topknott, 2S. 6d. 
 A sett of fillagreene, 61. \\s. 
 
 February 19. "A white allamode hood, 95. 
 2 dimity wastcoates, 3J. 6d. 2 silk wastcoates, 3/. \os. " 
 
 April 24. "22 yards of black French fine gause, at \s. 6d. 
 per yard, 4/. 19J. 
 A suite of blew sattin knots, gloves, and girdle, 4/. 
 
 May 8. " A pair of cherry and gold lace shoose, 15J. 
 A pair of black and silver fringe shoose, 1 5J.
 
 212 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 Makeing a rich gold and white pettycoate, 6s. 6| yards 
 of rich gold and white silk, att 3/. ifi. per yard, 22/. 19. ^^d. 
 A dozen of white kid leather gloves, i/. is. Gd. " 
 
 July 29. "4 pair of clouded silk stockings, 2/. 105. 6d. " 
 
 November 10. " For ivory tools for point worke, 3J. 
 A fine rich lace night rayle, 7/. 4;. 
 
 Fine bone lace for a hood, 5/. Fine bone lace for a 
 quoife, i/. Fine bone lace for an apron, 3/. Fine bone 
 lace for a cap, i/. 55. " 
 
 November 18. " 5 J yards of cherry coUoured mantow att 
 lis. 6d. per yard, 3/. 8j. 9^. 
 
 6 pair of white gloves, lis. 6d. 3 pair of jessimy gloves, 
 yj. 6d. 3 pair of Genoa gloves, ioj. 6d. " 
 
 1683, May 2. "A colberteene wyre, loj. Gd. " ^ 
 
 July 7. " A rideing cravatt, il. 155. 
 A whole head of haire, iL 15J. 
 A box of sweet meates, 61. 5J. 
 
 10 yards of spotted lutestring, at "js. 6d. per yard, 3/. i^d. 
 Makeing a camlett rideing coate, 8j. 9 dozen of greene 
 and silver buttons, il. 2s. 6d. 7^ yards of fine hair camlett, 
 at 95. per yard, 3/. 75. 6d. Green Florence sarcenett to line, 
 2/. 3 J. A greene and white feather, il. 35. " 
 
 August 4. "6 pair of white gloves, lOJ. 7 pair of rich 
 Roman gloves, i/, 8j. 
 
 August 24. " A pair of shamy gloves, 4J. 6d. 
 Makeing a crape mantua, 4J. 6d. 20 yards of fine crape 
 at IS. 6d. per yard, 2/. lOJ. Makeing a crape peaticote and 
 ribbon, 4J. 6d. 
 
 A pair of black cloth shoose, 55. 
 A black feather fann at lis. 
 A pair of black sattin stayes with all appurtenances, il. los. " 
 
 December 18. "A fine ermin tippet and fine sable mufFe, 
 at four guineyes, 4/. 6j. " 
 
 1685, December i . " Paid then to Mr. Coap att the Black 
 Lyon for silke bought against the Coronation, 24/. 45. " 
 
 1686, February 23. "A paire of gould tabby stayes, 2/." 
 1688, March i. "A bottle of orange flower water, 4^. " 
 
 ' Colbertine, ' a lace resembling network, ' so called after Coblert.
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 213 
 
 July 25. " Makeing a sultaine, i/. loj. Paid for greene 
 lutestring for the neck and pocketts, 6s. Paid for silver 
 lace and buttons, 2/. i8j. " 
 
 At this last date, Mrs. Luttrell's debt to William 
 Franklyn amounted to 819/. 1 3J. 8^. of which 15/. 
 10s. td. represented interest on 345/. for nine months. 
 Some of the items in the bills were for clothes for 
 her children. Thus we find the following : — 
 
 1683, March 17. "A crimson and white silk coate for 
 Master, i/. i8j. " 
 
 May 2. " Making a greene silk coate for Master, %s. 4 
 yards of rich Itallian silk at lu. per yard, il. \s. " 
 
 August 22. " Paid for makeing 2 silver coates, i/. 45. lOj 
 yards of rich gold and silver silke for both coates, at 33J. 
 per yard, 16/. i8j. \\d. " 
 
 1686, April 24. " For makeing three children's coates, 
 i/. lOi. For 20 yards of stript and floward silke at i \s.6d. 
 per yard, 11/. ioj. 
 
 1687, April 2. "A black caster for Master, 15J. 
 Makeing of 3 velvett coats for the children, i/. 15J. 24 yards 
 stri[ped] scarlett velvett, at i6j. 6d. 19/. i6j. 9 yards Scar- 
 lett stripped] silk to face them, at 5^. 6^/, 2/. 95. dd. " 
 
 1688, May 5. " Makeing 4 children's coats, with all things 
 to them, 2/. 1 55. 35 yards flowered waved silk for the coats, 
 at I2J, 21/. 
 
 Gold tabby to face Master's sleeves, 75. " 
 
 1690, May 29. " For a pair of blew stript silk stays for 
 Miss Mary, i/. 55. For making her a rich manto and 
 pettycoat of the same trimmed with silver fringe and foot, 
 1 5J. For thirteen yards and half of silk stript with bloom 
 and silver, at 155. per yard, 10/. is. 6d. For 9 ounces and 
 J of silver fringe and foot, at 4J. 6d. per ounce, il. 2s. 9^. " 
 
 Colonel Luttrell was of course responsible for the 
 liveries of the men in his service. The following are 
 samples of the entries relating to them : — 
 
 1683, June 26. " Makeing of seven liveries laced, 5/.
 
 2 14 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 Silk galloone and lineing the britches, iL Seven pair of 
 stockings, i/. 15^. Ribbon to tye the knees, yj. dd. Pocketts, 
 staying tape, canvas and buckram, i/. 20 yards of gray 
 cloath, at ioj. per yard, 10/. Yellow padoway to line six 
 coates, 3/. i6j. Silk to line the page's coate, lOJ. Silk to 
 make the wastcote and lineing, i8j. 6 black lacker hatts, 3/. 
 A black caster for the page, 13J. 151 yards of black and 
 gold lace for the 7 liveries, at 6j. per yard, 45/. 6j. Black 
 and gold chaine for the 7 liveries, 4/. \os. Black and gold 
 buttons for them 5/. \os. Ribbons for the liveryes, i/. 18 J. " 
 
 From other similar entries it appears that the black 
 and gold buttons cost about \s. ()d. per dozen, so that 
 5/. los. would represent about 750 buttons for the 
 seven liveries. 
 
 In 1677, the churchw^ardens of Dunster paid 6d. 
 to " Mr. Luttrell's huntsman for killing three hedge- 
 hogs. " 
 
 There is a detailed list of the plate at Dunster 
 Castle in 1690 : — 
 
 " Sixteen silver hafted knives, twenty and three spoones, 
 eighteen forkes, twelve small salts, one great salt, six tumb- 
 lers, two tankards, two great cupps with covers, six guilt 
 cupps, one flatt sugar box guilt, one round sugar box guilt, 
 one pepper box, one mustard box, three chafeing dishes, four 
 stands, one large spoone, one bason and ewere, two mazar- 
 ines, six chargers, three dozen of trencher plates, three 
 caudle cupps and three covers, two ladles, one small spoone, 
 one ring for sweete meats, seaven plates belonging to the 
 ring, one pye plate, two salvers, one coffee pott, six candle- 
 sticks, three snuffer panns, three paire of snuffers, two 
 chamber potts, tenn basons, one warming pann. " 
 
 The whole was valued at the time at 652/. Even 
 if none of the pieces dated beyond the reign of Charles 
 the Second, they would nowadays be very highly 
 prized. It will be observed that there were two 
 silver plates for each fork, the plates being changeable 
 once in the course of dinner, while one fork was con-
 
 MARY LITIREIJ. 
 (LADY I'.ANCKS).
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 215 
 
 sidered sufficient for the whole meal. In addition to 
 his plate of silver and silver-gilt, Colonel Luttrell had 
 great quantity of pewter. 
 
 Mary Luttrell, his wife, had many jewels, one of 
 which was reported to be worth 800/., a great sum in 
 those days, but this was an exaggeration. Some of 
 these ornaments had come to her from her mother, 
 the daughter of a former Lord Mayor of London ; 
 others were presents from her husband. Thus she 
 had a picture of him set in gold with diamonds round 
 it, a " crosiatt " of diamonds, and a diamond neck- 
 lace. ^ She is represented without any jewellery in 
 an oval portrait at Dunster Castle, painted as a com- 
 panion to that of her husband mentioned above. 
 
 Colonel Francis Luttrell died at Plymouth on the 
 25th of July 1690, at the age of thirty-one. Un- 
 conscious or regardless of the condition of his affairs, 
 the widow caused his body to be removed to Dunster 
 for interment, and so spent the then considerable sum 
 of 300/. on his funeral. The hatchment painted on 
 this occasion is still in existence. Colonel Luttrell 
 had issue four children : — 
 
 Tregonwell, his heir. 
 
 Mary, born on the 25th of November 1681, and bap- 
 tized on the 20th of December. Under her father's 
 will, she became entitled to 4,000/. She married 
 on the 2ist of January 1701, a widower. Sir George 
 Rooke, the celebrated admiral. Dying in childbed 
 about eighteen months later, she was buried at 
 Horton in Kent. ^ Queen Anne and Prince George 
 of Denmark stood as god-parents to her infant. 
 
 Jane, baptized at Milton Abbas, on the 19th of 
 
 1 Chancery Proceedings, Mitford * Musgravc's Obituary. 
 
 538, no. 2.
 
 2i6 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 August 1684, and buried at Dunster on the 14th 
 of November, 1688. 
 Frances, born on the 17th of April 1688 and baptized 
 at Dunster. She married firstly, about Christmas 
 1705, Edward Harvey, and secondly Edward Ashe 
 of Heytesbury. Like her elder sister, she was 
 entitled to 4,000/. under the will of her father. 
 
 The untimely death of Francis Luttrell gave rise 
 to a great deal of trouble. In the first place there 
 was a contest in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury 
 between his relict Mary and his brother Alexander, 
 guardian of the three children all under age. It was 
 not until March 1693 that the widow and executrix 
 undertook the administration of the personal estate. ^ 
 Then creditors began to make their voices heard. 
 According to one statement, the debts amounted to 
 12,000/. in addition to a sum of 10,000/. due to 
 Alexander Luttrell. Sir William Wyndham's loan of 
 4,000/. was secured upon the manor of Beggarnhuish 
 and other lands, part of the ancient inheritance of 
 the Luttrells of East Quantockshead, and these ac- 
 cordingly passed away from the family. Debts se- 
 cured byjudgment ranked next, but there were various 
 creditors who stood in to lose heavily, the bulk of the 
 real property being strictly entailed. Servants' wages 
 had not been paid for years. Mary Luttrell, the 
 widow, moreover, had a jointure of 1,500/. a year 
 which she was not at all disposed to forego. Several 
 members of the Dyke family who had a claim upon 
 her late husband's personal estate, retaliated by con- 
 tending that her jewels should be reckoned as part of 
 it. Although a minute inventory was made of the 
 contents of Dunster Castle, little or nothing seems to 
 
 ' p. CO. Coker. f. 40.
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 217 
 
 have been actually sold. ^ Under the will of Colonel 
 Francis Luttrell, the vvridow was entitled to a life- 
 interest in all his furniture, and it is not unlikely that 
 she gave some of her own money to rescue it from the 
 creditors. A few family portraits of the sixteenth 
 and seventeenth centuries still survive at Dunster 
 Castle. The fate of other moveables is briefly re- 
 corded in the diary of Narcissus Luttrell under the 
 date of 19 November 1696: — 
 
 " Yesterday morning a sudden fire hapned in Mrs Lut- 
 trell's house in St. James's Street, being newly and richly 
 furnished, which burnt it to the ground, the lady herself 
 narrowly escaping, and 'tis said she lost in plate, Jewells, ^c. 
 to the value of 10,000/. " 
 
 Tradition says that nothing was saved but one 
 diamond ring. A few weeks after this catastrophe, 
 Mrs. Luttrell married Jacob Bancks, a Swede by birth, 
 who held a commission as Captain in the English 
 navy. ^ According to one story, he had helped to 
 rescue her from the flames. He was knighted in 
 1699, and, through the Luttrell influence, he was 
 elected to represent Minehead in nine successive 
 Parliaments. ' Sir Jacob's bowl ' will be mentioned 
 hereafter. ^ Lady Bancks died of small-pox on the 
 2nd of March 1704, and was buried at Milton Abbas, 
 where there is a monument to her memory. Five 
 months later, her husband entered into a curious 
 arrangement with the wife of Alexander Luttrell of 
 Dunster Castle, the particulars of which are given in 
 his own writing: — 
 
 " I doe accnouledge to have receivd the summ off five 
 guineas to pay Miss" Doroty Luttrell the summ of fifty 
 guineas in case I doe marie after the 14th day of Agust 
 
 ' Chancery Proceedings, Mitford, 538, ' Briej Relation, vol. iv. pp. 142, 150. 
 
 no. 2; 546, no. 48. ^ Pages 244, 245, below.
 
 2i8 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 1704, in witnes wherofF I have sett my hand this 14th day 
 Agust 1704 afForesed, J. Bancks. 
 
 In presens off 
 
 A. Fownes, 
 
 F. Lutterell. 
 
 Ann Fownes. " 
 
 Although the Swede had secured the hand of an 
 EngHsh heiress, he clearly was not proficient in writing 
 her native language. It may be noted by the way 
 that he did not marry again. Milton Abbas event- 
 ually passed to his second son, and from him to a cousin, 
 a foreigner who was in no way related to the father 
 of Lady Bancks. ^ 
 
 Tregonwell Luttrell, only son of Francis and 
 Mary, was born on the 12th of February 1683 and 
 baptized at Dunster about a month later. Some 
 notices of the rich clothes that he wore while still an 
 infant have been given above. He was little more 
 than seven years of age at the time of his father's 
 death, and he did not live to obtain actual possession 
 of the ancestral estates. Dying at Sheerness in Oct- 
 ober 1703, he was buried at Dunster on the last day 
 of that month. ^ His uncle Alexander then became 
 the head of the Luttrell family. 
 
 Alexander Luttrell, third son of Francis and 
 Lucy, was baptized at Dunster on the 20th of October 
 1663. He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, 
 as a gentleman commoner, in May 1 677, when he was 
 under fourteen years of age, but, like his elder brother 
 Francis, he left the University without a degree. In 
 
 ' There is an account of the Bancks ' The newsmongers in London con- 
 family in Savage's Hundred of Car- founded him with his uncle. Luttrell's 
 /zam/)ton, pp. 638-643, derived from Hut- Brief Relation, vol. v. p. 531. 
 chins's History of Dorset.
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 219 
 
 the later part of his academical career, he was con- 
 cerned in an outrage on the dowager Lady Lovelace 
 which caused some excitement at the time. Lord 
 Bulkeley, Leopold Finch, Luttrell and five other 
 young blades from Christ Church who had been 
 drinking at the Crown tavern one evening in June 
 1 68 1, are stated to have "plucked her out of her 
 coach, " calling her by opprobrious names and other- 
 wise misconducting themselves in the street. ^ Before 
 leaving Oxford, Alexander Luttrell had been admitted 
 a student of the Middle Temple, in 1680. 
 
 When the independent regiment raised by Colonel 
 Francis Luttrell in November 1688 was put on a 
 regular footing in the following February, his brother 
 Alexander received a definite commission in it as 
 Captain. After the death of the first Colonel, Thomas 
 Erie, who had been in a different regiment, was 
 appointed to succeed him, and Alexander Luttrell 
 was one of several officers who at once resigned in 
 disgust. 
 
 When his former Lieutenant-Colonel, William 
 Northcote was placed at the head of a new regiment 
 in February 1694, Alexander Luttrell rejoined him 
 as a Captain. This regiment was disbanded in 1697, 
 but, in 1702, he and several of his brother officers 
 accepted commissions in a regiment of Marines under 
 the command of George Villiers. In December 1703, 
 he was promoted to be Colonel of that regiment, 
 which eventually became known as the ' Thirty-first 
 Foot. ' ^ After the successive deaths of his nephew, 
 Tregonwell Luttrell, and his sister-in-law Lady Bancks, 
 he finally left the army, and he took up his residence 
 at Dunster in 1705. 
 
 'Wood's Life and Times, vol. ii. p. ^ DaMon's Ejiglish Army Lists, yo\. iii. 
 
 542. P- 63.
 
 220 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 Alexander Luttrell was returned to Parliament by 
 the borough of Minehead in October 1690, in 
 immediate succession to his elder brother, and he was 
 duly re-elected on six occasions in the course of the 
 next fifteen years. He does not appear to have stood 
 in 1705, when Sir John Trevelyan and Sir Jacob 
 Bancks were returned. At Minehead he spent a good 
 deal of money on the improvement of the harbour, 
 and there was a project of reviving in his favour the 
 office of vice-admiral which had been held by his 
 ancestor, the second Sir Hugh Luttrell, and by his 
 brother Francis Luttrell. 
 
 There are at Dunster Castle two half-length por- 
 traits of Colonel Alexander Luttrell, in both of which 
 he is depicted in a large periwig and a red gown. 
 He died on the 22nd of September 171 1 and was 
 buried at Dunster on the 6th of October. He had 
 married on the 20th of July 1702, at Exminster in 
 Devonshire, Dorothy daughter of Edward Yard of 
 Churston Ferrers in that county. They had issue three 
 children : — 
 
 Alexander, heir to his father. 
 
 Francis, born on the 9th of April 1709 and baptized 
 at Dunster. He married at Kingswear on the i 3th 
 of January 1730, Anne daughter and heiress of 
 Charles Stucley of Plymouth, and they took up 
 their abode at Venn, a house belonging to his elder 
 brother, in the parish of Heathfield. There are at 
 Dunster three portraits of him and one portrait of 
 her. She died on the 30th of October 1731, in 
 the twenty-first year of her age, and a marble monu- 
 ment in memory of her can hardly have been set 
 up in the south-eastern chapel in Dunster Church 
 before he followed her to the grave, dying on the
 
 7'. Hiulson 
 
 ANNE LUTTRELL. 
 (MRS. PLKYDELL.)
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 221 
 
 6th of January 1732. Their only child, Anne, 
 married, in 1751, Edmund Morton Pleydell of 
 Milborne St. Andrew and Whatcombe House, in 
 Dorset, and lived to a very great age. ^ There is 
 at Dunster Castle a portrait of her w^hen young, in 
 a black hat with white feathers and a black dress 
 with white sleeves, and a good deal of jewellery. ^ 
 Dorothy, born in the loth of May 1707 and baptized 
 at Dunster. She died young. 
 
 For twelve years from the death of Colonel Alex- 
 ander Luttrell, Dorothy his widow managed the 
 Dunster estate on behalf of their eldest son, Alexander. 
 One contemporary describes her as " a very prudent 
 and charitable gentlewoman; " another styles her "the 
 great good lady at the Castle; " and a third, in 1720, 
 speaks of her adding to her " former just, charitable 
 and pious actions " by paying the debts of her brother- 
 in-law. Colonel Francis Luttrell, still outstanding. 
 In 17 1 8, she purchased for her son the advowson of 
 the church of Minehead. ^ The changes that she 
 made in and around Dunster Castle will be mentioned 
 in a subsequent chapter. The following little memor- 
 andum in her handwriting, made shortly before her 
 death, must not be taken to indicate a miserly dispos- 
 ition : — 
 
 " There is in the writing closett 2,300/. in money, be- 
 sides a hundred pound in broad pieces and moyders received 
 by leases. " * 
 
 No bank existed at that time in which the money 
 could conveniently be deposited. 
 
 ' Hutchins's History of Dorset, vol. i. hats and dresses. Both of them are 
 
 p. 199 ; vol. ii. p. 600. known to be by Thomas Hudson. 
 
 ^ There is a large picture of a lady at ^ Hancock's Minehead, pp. 126, 135. 
 
 Hartwell House in Buckinghamshire * Moidores were gold coins of Por- 
 
 and a smaller picture of a lady at Ecton tugal. 
 in Northamptonshire, in very similar
 
 222 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 Dorothy Luttrell died on the 19th of November 
 1723 and was buried in the vault of the Priory Church 
 at Dunster. There is a very pleasing portrait of her 
 at the Castle in primrose satin with blue drapery 
 hanging from the head, painted by Michael Dahl 
 about the time of her marriage. 
 
 Alexander Luttrell the second, eldest son of 
 Colonel Alexander Luttrell and Dorothy his wife, 
 was born at Dunster on the loth of May 1705, and 
 baptized there a month afterwards. In the autumn of 
 1722, when he was seventeen and a half years of age, 
 he and his brother Francis were sent to Oxford under 
 the charge of William Kymer, the curate of Dunster, 
 in order that the elder of them should matriculate at 
 Christ Church. The bill of their expenses shows 
 that they spent the first night at the Swan at Bridge- 
 water, the second at the George at Wells, the third 
 at the Three Tuns at Bath, and the fourth at the Lamb 
 at Cirencester. They stayed at the Star at Oxford 
 for a week, during which each of the young men 
 bought a wig costing nearly 4/. The 'caution money' 
 paid to the ' treasurer ' or bursar, amounted to 1 5/. 
 On the return journey, they stopped at Burford, 
 Cirencester, Sudbury, Bristol and Stowey. 
 
 Shortly before coming of age, Alexander Luttrell 
 married a lady several years older than himself, 
 Margaret daughter of his neighbour Sir John Trevel- 
 yan of Nettlecombe. A post-nuptial settlement of 
 his estate was made in 1729. Having a predomin- 
 ant interest at Minehead, he was, almost as a matter 
 of course, elected as one of the Members for that 
 borough in the ParHaments of 1727 and 1734. At 
 Dunster he had a ' huntsman ' as well as a gamekeep- 
 er. He or his father of the same name reduced the
 
 ^w 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ^^^^^^^^^^^KK^ • j^^^H 
 
 
 mk ^ 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 .W. ]>afii. 
 
 DOROTHY LFTTRKLL
 
 CH. VI. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 223 
 
 value of the hereditary property by selling the manor 
 of Williton Hadley to Sir William Wyndham. 
 
 Alexander Luttrell the second is chiefly to be re- 
 membered as the subject of numerous portraits. En- 
 dowed with good looks, and habitually dressed in fine 
 clothes, he sat in turn to several of the principal 
 painters of his day. It is, however, very difficult to 
 distinguish the portraits of him from those of his 
 brother Francis. An inventory of the year 1744 
 specifies three of him as being then at Dunster Castle. 
 One of these described as being " in miniature " may 
 possibly be identified with a very small canvas repre- 
 senting a boy, bewigged according to the fashion of 
 the time, and wearing a red coat, with a sword by 
 his side and a bird on his arm. In a pocket-book of 
 John Fownes Luttrell, there is a note that Boit, the 
 master of the famous enameller Zincke, painted " the 
 picture " of his grandfather Luttrell. 
 
 The second portrait of Alexander Luttrell shows 
 him also as a boy in a light periwig and coat and 
 waistcoat of mouse-coloured velvet. In the third, 
 which is a striking three-quarter length, he is a young 
 man in a light periwig and a blue velvet coat lined 
 with white satin. In the fourth, which is also three- 
 quarter length, he wears a larger light periwig, a brown 
 velvet coat and a very long waistcoat of a rich mater- 
 ial embroidered, or interwoven, with gold. This 
 picture is signed by John Vanderbank, and dated 
 ' 1729. ' In addition to the foregoing portraits of 
 Alexander Luttrell at Dunster Castle, there is one of 
 him in red velvet at Nettlecombe Court, and another 
 also in red velvet at Bathealton Court. One of these 
 may be by Enoch Seeman, to whom he paid sixteen 
 guineas, in 1733, "for four pictures. "
 
 224 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vi. 
 
 Alexander Luttrell died on the 4th of June 1737 
 and was buried at Dunster on the 1 6th, when thirty- 
 nine mourning rings at a guinea apiece, and six small 
 ones at ioj. were distributed among relations and 
 friends. 
 
 In 1 74 1, Margaret Luttrell, the widow, married a 
 second husband, Edward Dyke, the last male repre- 
 sentative of a family which had very rapidly acquired 
 a great landed estate in Somerset. As his wife, she 
 divided her time between his residences at Tetton 
 and Pixton. For some years, she had the sole charge 
 of three heiresses who were brought up as sisters — 
 her own daughter Margaret Luttrell, her first hus- 
 band's niece Anne Luttrell, and her second husband's 
 cousin, Elizabeth Dyke, afterwards Lady Acland. 
 
 There are two portraits of Edward Dyke at Pixton, 
 and two at Dunster. At the latter place there are four 
 portraits of his second wife. In the first of these she 
 is represented as a girl in blue and white satin. The 
 second, painted by J. Vanderbank in 1729, shows her 
 seated, with a dog by her side. In the third she is 
 in white satin with a red scarf, and in the fourth, 
 painted by Richard Phelps, in a blue cloth cloak 
 with a white hood over her head. There is a fifth 
 portrait of her, as Mrs. Luttrell, at Nettlecombe 
 Court, in blue silk with white sleeves and a white sash. 
 
 Mrs. Dyke died in 1764. By her will, proved at 
 Taunton, it appears that she painted flower pieces at 
 a time when few ladies had any practical acquaintance 
 with art.
 
 .7. Vfnidfrhdvh. 
 
 ALKXANDKR LrTTRELL
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Fownes Luttrells of Dunster 
 
 1737— 1780. 
 
 Margaret Luttrell, the only child of Alexander 
 Luttrell the second, and Margaret his wife, was born 
 on the 7th of February, 1726, and baptized at 
 Dunster. She was consequently little more than 
 eleven years of age at the time of her father's death. 
 Although the Luttrells had increased and multiplied 
 in Somerset and Devon in the course of the seven- 
 teenth century, there were, in 1737, only five living 
 representatives of the family, two young girls, this 
 Margaret and her cousin Anne ; a lunatic, Southcote 
 Luttrell of Saunton Court ; an old bachelor, Francis 
 Luttrell of the Temple; and a boy, Southcote Hun- 
 gerford Luttrell. These last three were but distantly 
 related to the Luttrells of Dunster, not having had 
 an ancestor resident there for two centuries. 
 
 Alexander Luttrell had died in debt, due in part 
 to personal extravagance and in part to the necessity 
 imposed upon him by his parents of providing a 
 fortune of 10,000/. for Anne Luttrell, the daughter 
 of his deceased brother Francis. The estate was 
 therefore thrown into Chancery and it was not until 
 1744 that the Master entrusted with the case made 
 his report upon the accounts. In the meanwhile 
 Dunster Castle was closed and two valuations of its
 
 226 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 contents were made for the satisfaction of the credit- 
 ors. In point of fact all the pictures and furniture 
 were saved, but such silver as had been acquired by 
 Alexander Luttrell or his father was dispersed. The 
 accounts of Lancelot St. Albyn, the receiver of the 
 rents for the year 1743, contain several references to 
 this matter, of which three will suffice : — 
 
 " Paid Mr. Alexander, goldsmith, for his assistance three 
 days at the sale of Mr. Luttrell's plate, 2/. 45. dd. Paid 
 Mr. White for the use of a room in the Crown Tavern in 
 Taunton, three days and expenses there, il. \s. ^d. Paid 
 the cryar, or salesman, 55. " 
 
 Particulars have been preserved of the weight of 
 every piece sold, and it may be interesting to note 
 that the prices ranged from 4^. ^d. to 6j-. 6^. per 
 ounce. The names of the purchasers are also given. 
 Among them were Sir John Trevelyan, Margaret 
 Luttrell's grandfather, George Trevelyan, her uncle, 
 Mrs. Dyke, her mother, St. Albyn, her agent, and 
 Alexander the goldsmith at Taunton. The yearly 
 value of the Luttrell estate at this period was about 
 6,300/. though the actual rental was only about 
 2,150/. most of the farms and other tenements being 
 let on lease for lives. 
 
 Margaret Luttrell spent several years under the 
 roof of her step-father, Edward Dyke, a very mode- 
 rate sum being allowed for her maintenance and 
 education, which included music lessons. It was 
 from his house at Tetton that she was married to her 
 second cousin, Henry Fownes of Nethway in the 
 parish of Brixham, in South Devon. The ceremony 
 took place at Kingston Church on the 1 6th of Febru- 
 ary 1747, when she was just twenty-one years of 
 age, and so free from the control of guardians, lawyers 
 and the like. The union proved exceptionally happy,
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 227 
 
 and her letters to her husband, when parted from 
 him, are conceived in a spirit of the sincerest affect- 
 ion. At times, she acted as his amanuensis. Her 
 health, however, was not good, and she died on the 
 13th of August 1766, after having given birth to 
 ten children. She was of course buried among her 
 ancestors in the vault at Dunster. There are four 
 portraits of her at the Castle. In the first she is 
 represented as a small child in white muslin, with 
 bare feet, offering cherries to a bird, in the middle 
 of a large canvas. Richard Phelps of Porlock, an 
 indifferent artist, afterwards painted a three-quarter 
 length portrait of her in grey and blue satin with a 
 string of pearls round her neck. A third painting 
 shows her in a grey cloak trimmed with lace, and 
 lace round her head. The fourth, which is the most 
 pleasing, gives only the head and neck with an open 
 lace collar. There is a fifth portrait of Margaret 
 Luttrell at Bathealton Court, painted some time after 
 her marriage. 
 
 Henry Fownes, the husband of Margaret Luttrell, 
 and through her the owner of Dunster, was the eldest 
 son of John Fownes of Kittery Court, in Kingswear, 
 by Anne, his second wife, daughter of Samuel Mad- 
 dock of Tamerton Foliott, a descendant of the 
 Mohuns of Boconnoc and consequently of the early 
 lords of Dunster. He was born about 1723 and he 
 matriculated at Queen's College, Oxford, in 1741. 
 In pursuance of a clause in the will of his father-in- 
 law, he took the additional surname of Luttrell soon 
 after his marriage. Another stipulation in that will 
 compelled him under a penalty to spend at least six 
 months of every year at Dunster Castle. One of his 
 first cares was to have a seal of Brazilian pebble
 
 228 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 engraved with the arms of Luttrell quartered with 
 those of Fownes. He also bought jewellery for his 
 bride, " a pair of three dropt brilliant earrings " 
 costing 330/., " a gold etwee with a brilliant diamond 
 to the spring " costing 35/., and " five brilliant stars 
 and a drop " costing 412/. " A gold repeating 
 watch " costing 60/. was also probably destined for 
 her, for Cooper the jeweller at the same time supplied 
 him with " a woman's gold watch-chain and five swi- 
 vells " costing 8/. 4.S. 
 
 Turning to more serious matters, Henry Fownes 
 Luttrell set himself to put his wife's affairs on a more 
 satisfactory footing than that in which he had found 
 them. With this object, he revived the suit in 
 Chancery and obtained the sanction of the Court for 
 the sale of the outlying manors of Heathfield and 
 Kilton. No sufiicient offer was, however, forth- 
 coming. After this, he made several vain attempts 
 to sell the manor of Minehead at his own price, 
 which avowedly included a considerable sum for a 
 seat, or perhaps two seats, in Parliament. He was 
 more successful in paying ofi^ mortgages on the estate 
 with money of his own. Furthermore, by avoiding 
 all unnecessary display and keeping a watchful eye 
 on expenditure, he was enabled to make many and 
 great improvements, for the benefit of himself and 
 his successors. 
 
 Various pieces of property in and near Dunster 
 came into the market in his time, and he was gener- 
 ally ready to buy them on reasonable terms. Thus, 
 in 1760, he acquired from John Poyntz, the last male 
 representative of an old Roman Catholic family, the 
 reputed manor of Foremarsh in the parishes of Dunster 
 and Carhampton, comprising houses under the shadow 
 of the Castle and fields intermixed with his own. In
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 229 
 
 1777, he bought the manor of Staunton Fry for 5,500/. 
 thereby considerably increasing his ' interest ' in the 
 parHamentary borough of Minehead. He also bought 
 up various tenements in the tov^n of Dunster and 
 extinguished the rights of most of the commoners on 
 the Marsh. 
 
 A country squire fond of horses, hounds and fight- 
 ing cocks, Henry Fownes Luttrell was also a man of 
 considerable taste. The structural alterations that he 
 made at Dunster Castle v^ill be described in a future 
 chapter, but it is necessary to mention here that the 
 surrounding domain ov^es much of its present beauty 
 to him. By abolishing unsightly hedges and by 
 planting trees judiciously, he may fairly be said to 
 have transformed the face of the land on the east and 
 south sides of the town. The present deer-park was 
 created by him. On Conigar Hill to the north of 
 the main street of Dunster, he, in 1775, built a lofty 
 circular tower, which, although hollow and unprovided 
 with a staircase, is useful as a landmark to sailors in 
 the Bristol Channel. Some artificial ruins erected on 
 the same hill cannot of course be commended, but 
 they are now practically concealed by the trees around 
 them. 
 
 Henry Fownes Luttrell used to spend part of most 
 years at his old home in Devonshire. There he kept 
 a small pack sometimes described as ' the merry Har- 
 riers. ' In the only portrait of him at Dunster Castle, 
 he is represented in a short light periwig and a drab 
 hunting coat, with a whip in his hand and a dog by 
 his side. A smaller portrait of him hangs at Bathealton 
 Court. 
 
 There are at Dunster Castle a number of books, 
 letters and papers relating to the borough of Minehead, 
 which are of some interest as illustrating the manner
 
 230 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 in which Parliamentary elections were conducted in 
 the eighteenth century. One fact worthy of remark is 
 that the different contests at Minehead were waged 
 on personal and local issues, with little regard to 
 wider questions of national policy. In the whole cor- 
 respondence about elections, there is no mention of 
 Whig or Tory, and there are very few allusions to 
 the leaders of the rival factions at Westminster. 
 
 After the death of Alexander Luttrell in 1737, Sir 
 William Codrington and Thomas Carew of Crow- 
 combe seem to have been successively returned to the 
 House of Commons in the interest of Dunster Castle. 
 The other seat was occupied successively by Francis 
 Whitworth of Leyborne, in Kent, who had property 
 at Blackford near Minehead, and John Periam, a 
 Somersetshire squire of comparatively small estate. 
 The franchise was vested in those parishioners of 
 Minehead and Dunster who were ' pot-boilers, ' or 
 resident householders, in the borough of Minehead, 
 which consisted of the three tithings of Minehead, 
 Alcombe and Staunton, the receipt of alms of any sort 
 being almost the only disqualification. Carew and 
 Periam were the two representatives of the borough 
 at the time of the marriage of Margaret Luttrell, the 
 heiress of Dunster. 
 
 On the 19th of March 1747, Charles Whitworth, 
 son of the late Member, wrote to Henry Fownes 
 Luttrell from St. James's Place in London, as fol- 
 lows : — 
 
 " From the acquaintance I had the pleasure of having 
 with you in the West, I take the liberty to congratulate you 
 upon your nuptials, and at the same time to felicitate you as 
 Lord of Dunster, which as it undoubtedly gives you a 
 Natural Interest in the borough of Minehead, I thought it 
 due to the civility that subsisted between the two families to
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 231 
 
 make this ofFer to be upon the same footing with you as my 
 father was with the late Mr. Luttrel, and since his decease 
 with that family's interest. 
 
 " The situation of Minehead induces the inhabitants therof 
 to make choice of their Members the one upon the Natural 
 Interest and the other upon that which may be serviceable 
 to them. It was upon this footing they approved of Mr. 
 Luttrel and my father, and since my father's death both by 
 publick and private benefits I flatter myself I have maintained 
 that interest as entirely as he enjoyed it, with a view to offer 
 myself the first opportunity. These, I believe you are sen- 
 sible, are the only two material interests in that town, though 
 in every place there is a floating squadron. 
 
 " As 1 am determined to stand [at] the General Election 
 at all hazards, I think it will be for both our interests to 
 unite together, which I dare say will be to the entire satis- 
 faction of the constituents. 
 
 " You know the footing the two present representatives 
 came in upon, the one entirely by the Castle interest, and if 
 you propose to stand yourself, it cannot be thought that the 
 same interest will prevail for two ; whereas if you do not 
 choose to come in this Parliament, I am equally willing to 
 join whoever you give your interest to. The other repre- 
 sentative came in upon my father's death, without any 
 opposition, myself not being of age, and [I] make no doubt 
 but that having kept up my father's interest ever since his 
 death will sufficiently secure myself for one of their repre- 
 sentatives the ensuing Parliament. " 
 
 To this overture Luttrell replied tardily and very 
 curtly : — 
 
 " I am sorry I cannot by any means comply whith your 
 request in relation to our junction at Minehead, by reason 
 I conceive too good an opinion at present of the constituents 
 there to think they will reduce the Castle interest to so low 
 an ebb as not to have the choice of one member at the 
 ensuing election. 
 
 He added that he considered the proposal prema- 
 ture and that he was prepared to " risque the expence
 
 232 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 of a neutrality. " Believing himself able to command 
 one seat, he does not seem to have cared w^ho secured 
 the other. 
 
 On the 26th of April, John St. Albyn, the agent 
 for the Luttrell estate, w^rote to enquire whether its 
 new owner intended to stand for Parliament. At a 
 recent visit to Minehead, he had been told that Whit- 
 worth would " risque his whole fortune " and that 
 " the new candidate " was determined to get every 
 thing that money could procure. This was Percy 
 Wyndham O'Brien, the member for Taunton, brother 
 of that active politician, Sir Charles Wyndham of 
 Orchard. Luttrell, it should be explained, was at the 
 time living far away, at Nethway in Devonshire. 
 
 On the 1 6th of May, St. Albyn wrote again rather 
 discouragingly : — 
 
 " The common fellows (who make full two thirds of the 
 voters) are at present gapeing very wide for money. . . Nothing 
 but money and a great deal of it, and gold too, will satisfy 
 them... The sentiments of the better sort are much divided, 
 some being for Whitworth, others for Carew... Some even 
 of those which I thought your very good friends are very 
 strenuous for the new candidate, Mr. O'Bryan. If this 
 affair goes on, as in appearance it will, it's thought there will 
 be a very troublesome and expensive election. " 
 
 " By the best accounts I can get, there are very near 300 
 electors in Minehead, and I have had the curiosity, since 
 I received your letter, to examine the rent-roll and see how 
 many of that number are your tenants, and I cannot pick 
 out 90 of them that hold anything under you, and perhaps 
 of that 90, 20 at least may be of the opposite party, or liable 
 to their influence or corruption ; so that, as lord of the 
 manor, you do not appear to be sure of more than about 
 one quarter part of the votes, and it may happen too that of 
 even one quarter of them some will fail you. Besides, I'm 
 informed that if you put your application for the choice but 
 even of one single member on the footing of hereditary right, 
 it will never go down with them. "
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 233 
 
 He considered that " some expence " would cer- 
 tainly be necessary to secure the election of the lord 
 of the manor. In putting the number of tenants at 
 so low a figure, it is clear that he excepted all those 
 householders, who, having leases or copyholds for 
 lives, were practically independent. 
 
 Eight days later, Luttrell wrote privately to several 
 of the chief inhabitants of Minehead, placing himself 
 in their hands : — 
 
 " As I am likewise informed that the majority of the 
 constituents cry aloud for gold, it is doubtful whether I shall 
 have an opportunity of confirming by action what I have 
 promised by letter. However, my anxiety for being a 
 representative is not so very great as even now to make 
 me determine either to offer myself or support a friend at 
 the ensuing election, but only ask the free voice of the 
 constituents for one or the other, clear of all expence to 
 myself On these conditions if you think the borough will 
 be unanimous, the greater will be my obligations toward 
 you. I too plainly see the rock my father Luttrell foun- 
 dered upon to run myself headlong into the same danger. " 
 
 If he stood at all, it would be " entirely on the 
 Castle interest. 
 
 A very lengthy and guarded reply written by Wil- 
 liam Hayman of Minehead on the ist of June 1747 
 has been preserved. According to him, there was a 
 general feeling in the town that one of the two 
 members should be " a Courtier." ^ Whitworth and 
 O'Brien had " under the name of Courtiers " forced 
 themselves into the borough, without consulting the 
 lord of the manor, who had " a Natural Interest " 
 there. Inasmuch, however, as most of the electors 
 were " persons of no property, " who had " formerly 
 received money " and were " in expectation of the 
 
 ' A ' Courtier ' was perhaps a supporter of the Pelham administnation. 
 
 e
 
 234 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 same gratification, " he was of opinion that nobody 
 whatever could be elected without expense. 
 
 " Yesterday was sennight, one Husk, an old servant of 
 the late Mr. Whitworth's, set out of London post and came 
 here Monday night, and says he was sent down by Mr. 
 Whitworth, who was ordered by Mr. Pelham to sound the 
 strength of his friends at Minehead, it having been reported 
 that Mr. Obrien's interest was vastly superior. His busi- 
 ness, Tuesday, was to walk the town with their chief friends, 
 to know the intentions of the people, and, I am told, for 1 
 was most part of that week abroad, that he met with great 
 encouragement. 
 
 " In the afternoon it happened that Mr. Leigh, agent for 
 Mr. Obrien, came to town, and while the others were at 
 the Key, firing gunns and displaying colours, got a great 
 number of friends with himself at the Feathers^ where he 
 elegantly treated them, and when the others returned from 
 the Key and were crying up their friend Whitworth, they 
 came out of the inn and cryed their friend Obrien, and by 
 throwing up their hatts happened to hit one of the other 
 party in the face, which caused a fray that might have set 
 the town by the ears, for while the better sort of people 
 were fighting, the mobb, happening to be pretty sober, 
 remained quiet and it was soon quelled, for the Collector 
 was engaged with Jonas, Dr. Godwin with Mr. Devonsheir, 
 Mr. Price with Mr. Payne, and various others ; so that what 
 the end of this warm opposition may come to before the 
 election is over will be hard to say, both parties being now 
 warmed with resentment. " 
 
 On the 6th of June, Thomas Carew wrote from 
 Lincoln's Inn Fields to say Parliament would be 
 dissolved within a fortnight and to ascertain Luttrell's 
 intentions with regard to Minehead : — 
 
 " As I was first set up to preserve the interest of Dunster 
 Castle in that borough, I can't in honour enter into any 
 engagements that may tend to oppose it, but am desirous to 
 do all in my power to deliver it back to the lord of the 
 borough in case he thinks proper [to] offer himself as a
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 235 
 
 candidate, but in case he shall decline, I please my[self] 
 with the hopes of not beinga disagreable person to represent 
 it again. " 
 
 Luttrell wrote from Nethway in reply that, on his 
 marriage he had thought himself " justly entitled to 
 the Natural Interest " in the borough and likely to 
 be returned " with little or no expense, " but that "a 
 contrary interest " had since prevailed. 
 
 " I am sorry I cannot by any means comply with your 
 request in strengthening your interest at Minehead, but the 
 civilities I have received from my friend Mr. Periam and 
 the many solicitations from other gentlemen in his favour 
 lays (sic) me under an obligation to serve him to the utmost 
 of my power. " 
 
 Nevertheless he expressed a hope that Carew would 
 be chosen for Westminster instead. 
 
 Two days later, he issued a letter to the electors of 
 Minehead on behalf of Periam. It is worthy of 
 remark that, although he did not suggest to them 
 how they should bestow their second vote, he wrote 
 at the same time to Sir Charles Wyndham recom- 
 mending " a junction " of his brother O'Brien with 
 Periam against Whitworth. Sir Charles replied from 
 Taunton on the 19th of June : — 
 
 " I cannot help wishing you had been so good as to have 
 agreed to what I proposed by Mr. Haslam last Christmas, 
 when by a junction all manner of opposition might have 
 been prevented. I never did propose to thwart the interest 
 of your family, nor do I think of it now ; but as my brother 
 has hitherto stood upon a single interest and is advised to 
 continue to do so, he cannot take any engagements till he 
 has conversed with the electors of the borough. " 
 
 On the 1 6th of June, Periam issued a very brief 
 address to the electors, not containing the slightest 
 reference to political or even to local questions, and 
 on the 23rd, he went to Blue Anchor, within a few
 
 236 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 miles of Minehead, in order to meet some of his 
 principal supporters before entering the borough with 
 them. The result of the interview, however, was that 
 he withdrew his candidature in favour of his late 
 colleague, Carew. Two days later, there was a con- 
 ference at Somerton between Sir Thomas Acland, 
 Henry Fownes Luttrell, John Periam and Thomas 
 Carew, which resulted in the retirement of the last 
 named. Luttrell was to give a dinner at Dunster 
 Castle on the following day, and in the afternoon he 
 was to accompany Periam to Minehead, to make a 
 public demonstration on his behalf. A few hours 
 later, Periam changed his mind once more, on hearing 
 that some of his partisans had, since his visit to Blue 
 Anchor, transferred their promises to Whitworth. 
 
 Luttrell's absence from Dunster throughout the 
 critical period, and Periam's vacillation within a few 
 days of the election, led to an eclipse of " the Castle 
 interest " in the borough of Minehead, and, on the 
 30th of June, Whitworth and O'Brien were returned 
 to Parliament without opposition. 
 
 The general election of 1754 was hardly more 
 favourable to the lord of Dunster. 
 
 Preparations began in the later part of February, 
 when Henry Fownes Luttrell was asked to support 
 the candidature of a total stranger, Henry Shiffner, a 
 wealthy Russia merchant. The request came at a 
 very inconvenient time, and on the 8th of May, he 
 wrote from Nethway : — 
 
 " Affairs are so circumstanced at Minehead (as I am about 
 disposing of the manor) that it is impossible for me to give 
 you an absolute promise of my interest there until such time 
 as I see whether I am like to dispose of it or not. However, 
 you will find, on an interview with Mr. Cholwick, that I 
 have given my word not to propose any other person (besides
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 237 
 
 a purchaser or his friend), relying entirely on what he writ 
 me that you would not only declare yourself upon the 
 Country Interest, but join neither of the present members. " 
 
 There was at the time some idea that ShifFner 
 himself would buy the manor. Two other candidates 
 were already in the field, the sitting member Whit- 
 worth, and a certain Daniel Boone. Percy O'Brien 
 was courting the electors of Cockermouth, and his 
 brother Charles, who had succeeded to the Earldom 
 of Egremont in 1750, was exerting all his influence 
 in favour of Boone. On the 6th of March, James 
 Gould wrote, apparently from Holnicote : — 
 
 " My Lord says he'll spend ten thousand pounds, and 
 Whitworth says he'll sell his estate in this part of the world 
 to supply his friends if they'll stand by him this once. 
 He writes prodigiously in favour of Mr. Shiffner, and, I 
 believe, would be glad to join him. W. Leigh offered 6 
 guineas and a crown yesterday morning, but not a [sou]l 
 would touch pot or penny. Nothing but guns and bells all 
 day long. " 
 
 " My Lord's friends have acted so very imprudently of 
 late that the mob is quite inflamed, and a vast many of the 
 better most people have deserted his interest. " 
 
 Lord Egremont certainly did not scruple to ask his 
 neighbour Sir John Trevelyan to use his influence 
 with a certain Mrs. Prowse, whom he describes as 
 his " greatest enemy " at Minehead, or to write direct 
 to Luttrell soliciting his interest for Boone against a 
 candidate " entirely unknown " in the county of 
 Somerset. 
 
 Luttrell was to some extent hampered by the fact 
 that he was High Sheriff for the year, but on the 19th 
 of March he issued the following letter from Dunster 
 Castle " to the electors of the borough of Minehead " : —
 
 238 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 " Gentlemen, 
 
 As the station I am in this year renders it a little improper 
 for me to make a personal application to you, I am obliged 
 to take this method, not only to repeat my recommendation 
 of Mr. Shiffner to your choice, but to intreat your votes and 
 interest for him at the ensuing election; and that 1 may be 
 the better enabled to distinguish who are my real friends in 
 the borough of Minehead, must beg the favour that each of 
 you (in Mr. Shiffner's interest) will sign your approbation 
 of him; which in doing you will infinitely oblige both him, 
 and, Gentlemen, your most assured friend and humble 
 servant, H. Fownes Luttrell. " 
 
 The document bears the names of i 8 i electors, of 
 whom 64 were avowedly illiterate, while the majority 
 were by no means skilled penmen. With 1 8 i votes, 
 Shiffner would have been certain of one of the seats. 
 On the 30th of March, John Marsh, the family 
 lawyer in London, wrote to Luttrell ; — 
 
 " 1 am glad to find that there is an opposition at Minehead 
 and that you find your interest so much greater then you 
 imagined. It will certainly be beneficiall in disposing of the 
 burrough. " 
 
 When ShifFner came down to Somerset, he was 
 met at Blue Anchor, on the 4th of April by " a 
 greater concourse of people than ever was known. " 
 Something, however, occurred to arouse " the resent- 
 ment of the voters, " and, by the i 3th, he had become 
 apprehensive of a coalition between Whitworth and 
 Boone. 
 
 " As it becomes us therefore to be extremely watchful, so 
 I think no opportunity of keeping up the spirit of Liberty 
 which at present prevails, ought to be neglected. " 
 
 He suggested that the Dunster men should be 
 invited to breakfast on the day of the poll, and that 
 influence should be brought to bear on the country
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 239 
 
 voters. The result of the poll, w^hich lasted four 
 days was — 
 
 Whitv^^orth, 283. 
 
 Boone, 178. 
 
 ShifFner, 145. 
 On the 2nd of May, the defeated candidate wrote 
 from London : — 
 
 " I hear Lord Egremont Is greatly disconcerted and very 
 angry at the struggle he met with. I wish it could be learnt 
 what expence he was at. I imagine it must have been very 
 considerable. Tho' I did not give a shilling to buy votes, 
 and was only at the expence of treating, &c. 1,200/. does 
 not clear my expences. " 
 
 For some weeks, he could hardly contain his rage, 
 and his letters abound with allusions to "the indignity 
 of the late election, " " perjury and prostitution of 
 conscience, " " arbitrary injustice, " " infringements 
 on the liberty of the publick," "brethren of iniquity," 
 " sycophants, " " half-paced and slack-mettled vil- 
 lains. " In one of them dated the 4th of May, he 
 describes the manner in which he bearded the Prime 
 Minister : — 
 
 " Yesterday morning I went to the Duke of Newcastle. 
 I told him that it gave me great concern to find myself and 
 friends were thought and declared to be Jacobites by him. 
 He staggered a little at the expression. I then told him 
 that, on the nth of April, an express came to Mr. Whit- 
 worth at Minehead with a letter from his Grace directing 
 and insisting upon it that Mr. Whitworth should use his 
 interest in Mr. Boon's favour by joining him, ^c. for that 
 the person who opposed him and the people that supported 
 him were Enemies to the Government. I expatiated on the 
 cruelty of such an insinuation. The Duke seemed to vawe 
 (waive) the affair as if such letter had not been wrote. On 
 which I told him that the letter with the above mentioned 
 expression was signed by his Grace's own hand, was seen
 
 240 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 by some of my friends [and] was owned to be so by 
 Mr. Whitworth himself Then it was ' My dear Sir, I did 
 not know you personally, but your character can never bear 
 such an imputation. ' At parting, I told him I had been 
 vilely treated, but that I was resolved to apply for justice 
 where I hoped to have more chance of meeting with it; and 
 so we parted. 
 
 " Tho' the Duke is a great man, and I am but a private 
 man, I think such slurrs should not go unnoticed. In the 
 Levee Chamber were Lord Powis, Lord Warwick, Lord 
 Peterborough, Mr. Morris of Wales, Councellor Martin 
 (member for Camelford, Cornwall), Bishop of Clonfert in 
 Ireland (who is Carmicheal, brother to Lord Hyndford and 
 to whom I am intimately known), and several others. I 
 made my errand the subject of conversation among them 
 before I went in to the Duke, and I shall pursue it further 
 by waiting on the next principal man, as the Speaker of the 
 House of Commons, ^c. to urge the injury of thus playing 
 with a man's character to serve a ministerial purpose. " 
 
 Shiffner asserted that he had four precedents of 
 elections having been declared void on proof that let- 
 ters had been sent by persons in powder to disparage 
 the character of a candidate. To say that a politician 
 was ' an Enemy to the Government ' was, in his 
 opinion, equivalent to stigmatizing him as a Jacobite. 
 A short correspondence between Shiffner and Henry 
 Fox ended in a declaration by the Secretary at War: — 
 
 " I frankly own my wishes that justice may be on the side 
 of Mr. Boon and Lord Egremont. " 
 
 On hearing of this rebuff, Luttrell observed: — 
 
 " What you writ in relation to Mr. Fox greatly pleased 
 me and, if possible, gives me a much better opinion of you 
 than I ever had, as I always hold those most in esteem that 
 appear the most contemptible in the eyes of such a miscreant 
 set of wretches. If I did not flatter myself with the hopes 
 of your meeting with more justice from others than you will 
 receive from Mr. Fox, I should despair of success in your 
 undertaking. "
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 241 
 
 On the advice of Pratt, afterwards Lord Chancel- 
 lor, it was resolved to petition the House of Commons 
 against Boone, and also to proceed at common law 
 against some of his agents in Somerset, especially 
 William Leigh, Lord Egremont's steward. The 
 petition when eventually presented, on the 26th of 
 November, only called in question the impartiality of 
 the returning officers and Boone's pecuniary qualifi- 
 cation for a seat in Parliament. Shiffner's main 
 grievance was that some forty Dunster men had not 
 been allowed to record votes which, if admitted, would 
 have turned the scale in his favour. The affidavits 
 filed in the criminal suit describe a man who had 
 come from Sussex under a false name as sitting at a 
 table covered with gold, in an upper room at the 
 Plume of Feathers' Inn^ and dispensing five guineas 
 apiece to the poorer voters, nominally by way of loan. 
 Considering that Boone had less than 600/. a year, on 
 his own showing, it seems clear that his expenses, 
 legitimate or otherwise, must have been defrayed by 
 Lord Egremont. Finding it difficult to refute the 
 charges brought against them, Boone's agents retaliat- 
 ed by counter-charges of bribery and corruption against 
 ShifTher, which he proposed to meet by an indictment 
 for subornation of perjury. There was long litigation 
 at Westminster Hall, at Bridgewater and at Taunton, 
 but after a year the different suits were abandoned, 
 to the great relief of the people of Minehead. The 
 petition seems also to have been withdrawn. 
 
 Henry Fownes Luttrell was at first hardly less 
 angry than his protege at the result of the election 
 of 1754, and devised some vindictive measures. After 
 a while, however, he came to realize that conciliation 
 was a better policy. In January 1757, he distributed 
 half a bushel of wheat apiece to 202 "voters of the 
 
 f
 
 242 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 borough of Minehead, " impartially including many 
 who had supported Boone against ShifFner, some 
 whose votes had been disallowed, and some new voters. 
 He also gave occasional venison feasts to the principal 
 inhabitants. 
 
 In November 1757, a private agreement appears to 
 have been made between him and Lord Egremont to 
 the effect that, at the next general election, they should 
 choose only one candidate apiece and that they should 
 combine against any third candidate who might offer 
 himself. At the election of 1761, Lord Egremont 
 brought forward his brother Percy, the former Mem- 
 ber for Minehead, who had been created a peer of 
 Ireland, under the title of Earl of Thomond, and 
 who wanted a seat because the borough of Cocker- 
 mouth had been bought by Sir John Lowther. 
 Boone, broken in health, disappeared from the scene, 
 and Whitworth did not stand. The polling was 
 accomplished in one day, and on the 28th of March 
 the result was declared as follows : — 
 
 Henry Shiffner, 287. 
 
 Lord Thomond, 226. 
 
 Lord Clanbrasill, 69. 
 Out of the 291 electors who recorded their votes, 
 only four failed to give one to Shiffner. This success, 
 however, was not attained without eventual expense 
 to him or his patron. There is in Luttrell's hand- 
 writing a very significant " List of voters at Mine- 
 head that refused taking the 3 guineas, 1761," the 
 number of electors who disdained such a reward being 
 exactly thirty. Their names are repeated in a " List 
 of voters in Minehead asked to dine at Dunster Castle, 
 8 September 1763, having not taken the 3 guineas 
 after the election, " and they were invited again in 
 August 1764.
 
 cH.vii. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 243 
 
 The connexion between Luttrell and Shiffner had 
 by this time ripened into a warm friendship, and the 
 new Member of ParHament wrote frequently to the 
 squire of Dunster. One of his letters dated 1 1 De- 
 cember 1762 is of more than local and personal 
 interest. In this he says : — 
 
 " Thursday was the day for taking the Preliminaries into 
 consideration, when places were taken at 7 o'clock in the 
 morning in the House, where assembled about 430 Mem- 
 bers, and the debate began about 3 o'clock. It is impossible to 
 enter into the whole particulars of it, which lasted till 1 2 o'clock 
 at night, when upon a division the numbers stood thus : — 
 319 for the approval of the Peace ; 
 6^ against the approval of it. 
 
 Several Members went away before the division. 
 
 " Mr. Pitt, very gouty, attended with a crutch, and was 
 indulged to stand and sitt down alternatively, and indeed I 
 think in his circumstances of health he required that in- 
 dulgence, as his speech lasted three hours and twenty-six 
 minutes^ the most laboured and the worst speech I ever 
 heard him make. In short, it seemed to be an apology for 
 his inflexibility in not agreeing to a Peace last year, arraign- 
 ing the present Peace article by article, and was couched in 
 terms and expressed as if meant to lay a foundation for 
 popular insurrection. In short,he fairly fatigued the attention 
 of the whole House, and went out as soon as he had finisht 
 his speech. He was answered by Mr. Charles Townsend 
 verbatim in twenty-five minutes, and, in my opinion, 
 confuted in every argument which he had given us by 
 repetition upon repetition. After this there appeared so 
 great an inattention in the House from the tiresomeness 
 which a speech of 3 hours and 26 minutes had occasioned, 
 that tho' several spoke pro and con^ yet no sort of attention 
 appeared to be given to it. " 
 
 " When Mr. Pitt came into the House, the people in the 
 Lobby made such a hollow as, I own, startled me and I 
 believe almost every Member of the House, and the same 
 was repeated when he withdrew. " ' 
 
 ' Of. Jesse's Life and reign of George the Third, vol. i. pp. 157-159.
 
 244 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 " Yesterday, the Report of the Address which had the 
 preceding day been determined upon to the King was made, 
 when unexpectedly the debate revived, and tho' I thought 
 to have been at home at 4 o'clock to dinner, I did not 
 accomplish my intention till ^ past eleven at night, when 
 we had another division : — 
 
 227 agreeing to the Address ; 
 63 dissenting from it. " 
 
 "The Opposition consisted of the friends of the Duke of 
 Newcastle, the Duke of Devonshire, the Duke of Grafton, 
 and Mr. Pitt, and Lord Hardwick, and the main stress of 
 their argument seemed to be so contrived as to raise in the 
 people an apprehension of the Prerogative being extended 
 contrary to Revolution principles, a most dangerous poison 
 for vulgar minds and artfully contrived as well as artfully 
 applied in order to raise popular tumult against the Govern- 
 ment, with hopes of displacing the present Administration 
 and replacing themselves. 
 
 They.... wish to revive the odious distinction of Tory and 
 Whig which, thank God, seems sunk in oblivion. " 
 
 Shiffner kept his friends at Dunster Castle supplied 
 not only with parliamentary news but also with his 
 signatures enabling their letters to go free through 
 the post. On one occasion alone, he sent down 
 " eight dozen of half-sheet covers and sixteen dozen 
 of quarter-sheet covers, " with a promise of more 
 when required. 
 
 During the Parliament of 1761, the Luttrell inter- 
 est in the borough of Minehead was kept alive by 
 venison feasts, suppers at the local inns, doles and the 
 like. Preparations for another election began as early as 
 September 1766. In that month there are lists of 
 about sixteen " gentlemen of the Bowling Green Club 
 who had half a buck sent 'em and Sir Jacob's bowl 
 of punch " and about twenty " other gentlemen who 
 are not of the above club and for whom half a buck 
 is sent to be dressed at the Plume of Feathers with Sir
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 245 
 
 Jacob's bowl of punch. " In November, Dr. Richard 
 Brocklesby, an eminent physician practising in Lon- 
 don, conceived the idea of emancipating the borough 
 in which he had been born from the sway of the 
 neighbouring magnates, and obtaining for it at least 
 one representative of acknowledged reputation. By 
 his advice, apparently, some of the principal inhabit- 
 ants of Minehead resolved to approach the Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer, Charles Townshend. Lord Tho- 
 mond at once took alarm and tried to effect an alliance 
 with the lord of Dunster against the common foe. 
 When the news reached Luttrell, he wrote as follows 
 to Leonard Herring, vicar of Minehead : — 
 
 " The late severe loss 1 have sustained has made home 
 become very dull and insipid to me, and therefore I have 
 some thoughts of changing the scene and going into Parlia- 
 ment. If 1 persevere in my present intentions, I shall of 
 course offer myself for Minehead at the ensuing election, 
 and, if I succeed, 1 hope to have it more in my power to 
 serve the publick and my friends. I purpose to communi- 
 cate this intended scheme of mine soon to Mr. Shiffner, 
 that he may look out for some other borough in case I 
 should carry it into execution. 
 
 "I must also inform you that I have received undoubted 
 intelligence that Lord Thomond intends to offer himself or 
 his friend at the next election and is moreover determined 
 to support the Egremont interest. If this should be the case, 
 and Mr. Townsend is promised one vote certain, whether 
 he is in power or not, what is to become of me or my 
 friend .'' 
 
 " I am totally cut off from any junction with either by the 
 promises I have made and which I have to adhere to what- 
 ever the consequence may be. I only intend to ask for 
 one vote, either for myself or my friend, and I think I have 
 as much right to expect a certainty of it as Mr. Charles 
 Townsend or any other person. If the gentlemen of Mine- 
 head are determined to engage themselves to this great man, 
 I submit it to their consideration whether they should not
 
 246 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 do it conditionally if he is in power at the next election; for 
 otherwise, should he be stripped of his employments before 
 that time, their promises will continue to the man and not 
 to the Minister. " 
 
 On the 14th of December, ShifFner wrote : — 
 
 I am very sensible of the state of the borough, and do 
 expect at the general election several fresh candidates, a 
 greater number than, I believe, have for many years offered 
 themselves at the borough of Minehead. The sharper the 
 contest, the more glorious will be the victory. Lord Tho- 
 mond intends to push a friend, who I know not. Whit- 
 worth says he shall meet me there with somebody he intends 
 to recommend. " 
 
 The next move was a circular letter from Charles 
 Whitworth, the former Member, dated 29 January 
 1767, announcing that if two hundred electors would 
 sign a paper promising their votes to him and his 
 friend, "an eminent merchant in the City of London," 
 they would establish " proper annual schooling for 
 the education of poor voters' children " and encourage 
 other plans for the benefit of the town. The eminent 
 merchant, unnamed, was doubtless to provide the 
 necessary money. On the ist of February, John 
 Short wrote from Minehead to Henry Fownes Luttrell 
 at Nethway: — 
 
 "I have just time to tell you that Mr. Whitworth has 
 declared himself a candidate for this borough and that Dr. 
 Question have (jzV) received a letter from him referring him 
 to one which Mr. Warren has, wherein he promises to give 
 the poor fellows ten guineas a man, and that Stroude and 
 Powell have been amongst them. The bells have been 
 ringing this evening, I suppose upon that ocasion. " 
 
 In reply Luttrell declared that Whitworth's " bold 
 stroke" gave him "no manner of concern," adding: — 
 
 " His promise of ten guineas a man who will give him 
 both votes may be thought by some an alluring bait, but
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 247 
 
 when the generality of the town come seriously to consider 
 that places, as well as a little temporary cash, will be wanted, 
 I presume they will think of some other person to serve 
 them, who will be more capable of doing it than, I appre- 
 hend, is in Mr. Whitworth's or any merchant's power 
 to do. " 
 
 Shiffner also affected to be quite unconcerned, 
 suggesting that his supporters might get some enter- 
 tainment at Whitworth's expense. 
 
 On the 8th of March, the vicar wrote to Lut- 
 trell :— 
 
 " Last Friday, the subscription-book was opened by Robert 
 Fry, in order to engage 200 votes at ten guineas a man for 
 one vote, when 105 signed the paper, and have absolutely 
 engaged to stand by his friend let him be Hack or white. 
 They are adding to that number daily and as soon as the 
 subscription is full, the book is to be shut, and, I suppose, 
 he (Whitworth) will then go upon 'Change. Mr. Adams 
 has joined him, but I dont hear of any other gentleman. 
 This is pushing you and your friend confounded hard. 
 
 " As the affair now stands, your real friends would be 
 greatly obliged by you if you would let them know your 
 final resolutions, for they are almost ripe for rebellion and 
 are ready to fight him through all his weapons. 
 
 " The corn you have sold to the poor of this town is 
 looked upon as no favour, for they publickly declare they 
 will stand by that man that will give most. By what 1 can 
 learn, they are determined to run you extremely hard. " 
 
 On the 14th, Luttrell issued his address to the 
 election saying : — 
 
 " I offer myself unconnected with Mr. Shiffner and every 
 other person, and having no intentions of asking for any 
 place for myself, I think I can with the greater propriety 
 apply to Government on behalf of a friend. " 
 
 Various persons at Minehead had desired places as 
 excisemen, tide-waiters and the like. Just a week 
 later, the vicar wrote to Luttrell : —
 
 248 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 " Your letter gave a very general satisfaction to the 
 principal people of the town, and we are all determined to 
 carry the election for you at all events. We canvassed the 
 borough for you yesterday, when we made a most noble 
 appearance, having almost every man in town of any conse- 
 quence to attend us, excepting some few that were ill. " 
 
 " We shall all make a point of carrying this election, 
 notwithstanding the strong opposition that is talked off; 
 and if you'll send down 200/. to be distributed as we see 
 necessary, I'll return you by the following post a fixed 
 majority, in defiance of all their efforts. 'Tis the opinion 
 of us all that something of this kind must be immediately 
 done. To save every expense in our power, we have entered 
 into an agreement never to have one public dinner, and if 
 you expect our company in the evening, we shall insist on 
 having nothing but a welch rabbit. 
 
 " I should be glad if Mr. Shiffner would drop all thoughts 
 of coming to Minehead and go with me into Cornwall, 
 where I am well assured he will meet with a most agreeable 
 reception. " 
 
 ShifFner, how^ever, was not to be so easily shaken off. 
 On the 24th of April he issued a printed notice to 
 the voters that he w^as " firmly determined " to " wait 
 on them at the next election, " and repeating " in the 
 most solemn manner the declaration he made, that 
 he has not any concert, connexion or correspondence 
 with Mr. Luttrell or any other candidate, directly or 
 indirectly." Twenty-nine of the principal inhabitants 
 of Minehead were invited to dine at Dunster Castle 
 on the 27th of April. 
 
 In the course of the next few months, the negoti- 
 ation with Charles Townshend was terminated by 
 his premature death, and Lord Thomond betook 
 himself to Winchelsea. On the other hand, a project 
 was formed of inviting the Duke of Grafton to 
 send down a purely ministerial candidate. The Duke 
 himself encouraged it openly, and some of the electors
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 249 
 
 who had promised one vote to Luttrell were willing 
 to sign the proposed memorial. Luttrell, however, 
 took umbrage at it, and, acting with unwonted 
 energy, went up to London to oppose the scheme at 
 head-quarters. The result of this move was that the 
 Government gave him the immediate patronage of all 
 offices at Minehead, presumably in consideration of a 
 promise of support in the next House of Commons. 
 On the 2nd of October, the vicar wrote to him : — 
 
 " ' Luttrell for ever ' is now the general cry to serve both 
 high and low. You never had a more favourable opport- 
 unity of putting in another member than at present, if you 
 can but compromise affairs with Mr. Shiffner, which, 1 
 imagine could easily be done thro' the Duke of Grafton. " 
 
 " A pleasing smile you may see in the faces of three parts 
 of the people in town, while the others have their chins down 
 to the fifth buttonhole. " 
 
 Five days later, he wrote again : — 
 
 " If you can but adjust this affair with Mr. Shiffner, your 
 friend must come in without opposition. 
 
 The grandiloquent Shiffner had clearly lost much 
 of his popularity, and in this contest he had not the 
 overt support of his friend at Dunster Castle. 
 
 Parliament was dissolved on the iith of March 
 1768, and a little after nine o'clock on the morning 
 of the 1 8th, proclamation was made at the cross, or 
 market-place, of Minehead. The precept and the 
 bribery oath were then read and three candidates 
 proposed. " Mr. Shiffner offered himselt as their 
 former Member; Mr. Whitworth offered himself; 
 Mr. Luttrell offered by Mr. Hayman. They then 
 adjourned to the polling room and began the poll 
 about ten. " As it was well known beforehand that 
 the great majority of the electors would give one vote 
 to Luttrell, the contest was practically left to the two 
 other candidates, each of whom alternately sent up 
 
 g
 
 250 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 a ' tally, ' or batch, of ten supporters. For hours 
 therefore they appeared to be running neck and neck, 
 each, however, keeping the chief local magnates in 
 reserve till the end. Shiffner was the first to be 
 exhausted, and the poll was closed about four o'clock, 
 when the result was declared : — 
 
 Luttrell, 301. 
 
 Whitworth, 197. 
 
 Shiffner, 167. 
 Very few of the electors had divided their votes 
 between Whitworth and Shiffner, and still fewer had 
 tendered only one vote. The defeated candidate 
 again threatened a petition, but nothing came of it. 
 A minute account has been preserved of Luttrell's 
 expenses in connexion with this election, extending 
 over a year and a half, from April 1767 to October 
 1768, and amounting in all to 1,868/. 5J-. 9^. In the 
 first of these years the chief items were for wheat sold 
 to the poor at a reduction and over 300/. "gave to 
 the poor voters " in cash. In order to keep clear of 
 the acts against bribery, no promises of support had 
 been exacted from them in return for this voluntary 
 distribution. Altogether two hundred and eighty-seven 
 electors had pocketed a guinea apiece without scruple. 
 A separate list gives the names of fifty-five "gentlemen 
 who will not take money. " On the day of the 
 canvass at the beginning of March, ^^Ib. of gun- 
 powder had been consumed, and compensation was 
 eventually paid for windows broken by the firing of 
 the guns. A few days before the election, there had 
 been sports in a field behind a house on the quay. 
 Sailors in sacks had run for " a pair of handsome 
 trowsers, " and landmen in sacks had run for a hat. 
 Women had run for " a handsome pair of stays " and 
 " a handsome shift, " and girls " tied back to back "
 
 cH.vii. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 251 
 
 had run for a pair of pumps that cost 3J-. The maids 
 from the Castle had of course been bedecked with 
 suitable ribbons. The customary fees paid on the 
 day of the election to the crier, to eight constables, 
 to as many chairmen, to two drummers, to a fiddler 
 and others, amounted in all to less than i 2/. A great 
 part of the account is occupied with expenditure on 
 beef, bread, cheese, ale, wine, rum and the like. It 
 is more interesting to observe that on the fourth day 
 after the election, Luttrell's permanent agent went to 
 Minehead Quay and there openly gave four guineas 
 to every sailor who had voted for his employer. In 
 the course of the next few weeks, a like amount was 
 given to different landmen, those who had not re- 
 ceived a guinea in the previous year, but who had duly 
 voted for Luttrell, receiving five guineas apiece. Al- 
 together, the "cash given the voters after the election" 
 by his agent amounted to close upon 1,000/. We 
 have no record of the sums given by Whitworth to 
 those of his supporters who had taken Luttrell's 
 guinea in 1767. Although Luttrell's agent somehow 
 got a list of the voters who had received money from 
 Shiffner, each candidate seems to have adhered hon- 
 ourably to his declaration that he had no connexion 
 with either of the others. 
 
 The election of 1768 was barely over before Lutt- 
 rell, flushed with success, began to prepare for another, 
 with the intention of securing both seats. On the 
 1 6th of April, Sir Thomas Acland wrote to him from 
 Holnicote, near Minehead : — 
 
 " I am persuaded that your weight and property in the 
 borough, properly managed, would with little trouble secure 
 to you the nomination of both members. 
 
 It would not be consistent with that candour which ought 
 to be observed, were I not to say that I ca'nt (as matters are at
 
 252 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 present circumstanced) think of serving Mr. ShifFner, or of 
 opposing Mr. Whitworth, for whom I have some regard. " 
 
 On the same day, invitations like the follow^ing 
 were issued to some of the principal inhabitants of 
 Minehead : — 
 
 " Mr. Luttrell presents his compliments to Mr. Thomas 
 Brown, and having declared his intentions of offering his 
 friend as well as himself for Minehead at any future election, 
 he hopes Mr. Brown will support the nomination and give 
 Mr. Luttrell the pleasure of his company at Dunster Castle 
 next Thursday to dinner. " 
 
 One cautious elector, who could not accept the 
 invitation, replied that he would support Luttrell and 
 his friend " provided this friend, when known, shall 
 appear deserving of the choice and suffrage of a free 
 people. " The name of the " friend " was not, how- 
 ever, disclosed. Periodical dinners and " buck-feasts " 
 at the Plume of Feathers may have tended to maintain 
 the Castle interest, but, in the summer of 1773, there 
 were serious " differences " between the townsmen 
 of Minehead and their senior representative, apparently 
 on some local question. 
 
 During three days at the beginning of August 1774, 
 the borough of Minehead was systematically canvassed 
 on behalf of Henry Fownes Luttrell and his "friend, " 
 who was his eldest son, John Fownes Luttrell. Some 
 tew electors wished to reserve their second vote for 
 ShifFner, in the event of his coming forward again. 
 Shortly afterwards a legal opinion was obtained from 
 John Heath, K.C. : — 
 
 " The only statute prohibiting candidates from treating 
 electors is the 7th of King William the 3rd. This prohibit- 
 ion does not take place in the case of a General Election 
 untill the writts of election are ordered for the ensuing 
 election. But at Common Law I conceive that all enter-
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 253 
 
 tainments given with an avowed intent to procure votes at 
 an election are illegal. 
 
 " I think that you may still defray the expences at the 
 monthly clubb, entertain your tenants at holding your Man- 
 our Courts, pay the ringers, and reward the sailors who 
 have attended you, in the usual way untill the writts for the 
 ensuing election shall be ordered or issued ; and then such 
 entertainments and gratuities should cease. 
 
 " It is most prudent to avoid giving any extraordinary 
 entertainment, but no law prohibits you from entertaining 
 your friends at your house before the issuing or ordering 
 of the writts of election, tho' such friends should be voters, 
 or even afterwards, if it be not in great numbers, or in an 
 extraordinary way. " 
 
 On the 29th of August, Richard Cox of Minehead 
 wrote to say that Sir Charles Whitworth had announ- 
 ced his intention of coming to the town with a friend, 
 " a person of great fortune and of undeniable char- 
 acter, " in about a fortnight. 
 
 " The common people are in great spirits, as they are 
 made to believe that they shall have twenty guineas at least 
 a man. Andrew Boucher has got a paper headed so that 
 all those that chuse to support Whitworth's friend are to 
 sign their names so. I am told 170 has allready signed it. " 
 
 " It is the oppinion of all your friends that it will be 
 absolutely necessary for you to canvass the bourough before 
 Whitworth comes downe, and I do intirely agree with them 
 in opinion, although I do'nt tell them so. My dear Mr. 
 Luttrell, do'nt mind a little trouble. I am certain it will 
 save you many pounds. " 
 
 Trouble was just what Luttrell disliked. Many of 
 his letters begin with apologies for delay in writing. 
 In point of fact Whitworth was soon established by 
 the Government in a safe seat at East Looe. ^ 
 
 On the 3rd of October, a certain Mr. Barnfather 
 came down to Minehead as a candidate. He was 
 
 ' Historical MSS. Comm. x. Appendix vi. pp. 6, 7.
 
 254 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 met at Alcombe Cross by some thirty of the inhabit- 
 ants and went into the town preceded by a drum. 
 A canvass that afternoon and the next day resuhed in 
 the promise of only forty-five votes, and so he took 
 his departure, after sending a civil letter to Dunster 
 Castle saying that he had been " greatly misled by 
 the intimations which he had received while in 
 London, " and that he would not put Mr. Luttrell 
 to any further trouble or unnecessary expense. 
 
 The final canvass for the two Luttrells was on the 
 4th and the Court Leet of Minehead was held on the 
 5th, when some of the jury subscribed 2s. bd. apiece, 
 so that there should not be the slightest appearance of 
 treating on the part of the lord of the manor, the writs 
 for the General Election having been issued. On the 
 5th and 7th there was " nothing doing in Minehead." 
 
 On the 8th, " Mr. Luttrell and Mr. J. Luttrell, with 
 Mr. Henry, Alexander and Francis Luttrell, Mr. Hayne 
 and Mr. Milward, set out from Dunster a little before 10, 
 and at Alcombe Cross met the colours, drums, and violins, 
 chamber gun men and a very great number of the principal 
 and other voters and others. 
 
 " All walked from thence into Minehead ; first colours, 
 drums and violins ; next the two constables with their staffs ; 
 next Mr. and Mr. J. Luttrell with their hats off; and all 
 others followed. Stopt some time at Mr. Cox's and all 
 went from thence in same manner to Market Place, where 
 the cryer proclaimed silence three times. Then Mr. Warren 
 read the precept and publication of it. Then Mr. Hayman 
 swore the two constables, and after Mr. Baston read the 
 Bribery Act. Then Mr. Luttrell offered himself; then 
 Mr. J. Luttrell offered himself, candidates. Then the con- 
 stables and candidates adjourned to the Market House for 
 polling. " 
 
 Ten electors and the two constables recorded a vote 
 apiece for each candidate. After a few more formal- 
 ities, Mr. Cox declared them duly elected. They
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 255 
 
 returned thanks, which were received with applause, 
 and were then carried to Mr. Cox's house in two 
 chairs. 
 
 " Then all dispersed and Mr. Luttrell ^c. came home to 
 dinner, not having spent a penny on either of his canvasses 
 or election or in any other way on the voters." 
 
 Was not Minehead a model constituency .? Was 
 there ever a more virtuous election-agent than George 
 Gale, who wrote as above ? Less than four months 
 later, the same George Gale was busily occupied in 
 distributing gold pieces among the electors of Mine- 
 head. There were three categories : — " Voters who 
 would not accept of the five guineas ; voters who 
 accepted of the 5 guineas ; voters who would have 
 been against Mr. Luttrell, so had nothing given 
 them. " There is a short summary in Luttrell's 
 own hand : — 
 
 "95 voters at 5 guineas each 498/. 155. 
 
 Colour-men, ^c. ^'c 29/. 8 j. 
 
 10 more to take 50 guineas 
 
 About 30 voters more who are to be allowed the five 
 guineas out of their rents. 150 guineas." 
 
 In the accounts 635/. 5/. are entered as " gratuities 
 given the poor voters." One hundred and eighteen 
 of "the common voters" were entertained at different 
 public houses on the 20th of October at a charge of 
 5J. a head. On the same day " the principal voters " 
 received " a treat " or " general feast " at the Plume 
 of Feathers Inn comprising both dinner and supper. 
 
 A fortnight after the election. Lord North, then 
 Prime Minister, wrote to Luttrell : — 
 
 " As there is nobody whom 1 can wish to see Member 
 for Minehead in preference to you, 1 cannot but rejoice at 
 the determination that you have taken of representing that 
 borough yourself. But as you seem in your letter [to
 
 256 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 J. Robinson] to express some discontent at the conduct of 
 Administration with respect to the election, I beg leave to 
 state in a few words what my conduct has been in the 
 whole course of this transaction. 
 
 " From the time that you explained to me that the 
 borough was intirely in your hands, I have always disposed 
 of the offices there at your recommendation. That Sir 
 Charles Whitworth should not be tempted to give you any 
 trouble, I fixed him above half a year ago as a candidate for 
 Dover. As soon as I heard from you that he was making 
 some stir at Minehead, I wrote to him to desist. It was 
 from your own suggestion that 1 first thought of recom- 
 mending a candidate at Minehead, and it was upon your 
 objecting to Mr. Legge and appearing, as I thought, willing 
 to accept of my recommendation of another gentleman, that 
 I took the liberty of mentioning Governor Pownall to you. 
 
 " This, I solemnly declare, is all that I have done with 
 respect to Minehead, and I cannot conceive how you can 
 form, from any part of this conduct, an idea that I look upon 
 it as a Government borough. If you have changed your 
 opinion, and, instead of bringing in a gentleman at my 
 recommendation, as you seemed inclined to do when I last 
 heard from you, are now determined to represent Minehead 
 yourself, I do not complain of it, but if you take this step 
 from any jealousy of me, give me leave to tell you that 
 your jealousy is groundless and unreasonable." 
 
 It does not appear that Henry Fownes Luttrell 
 had any real zest for Parliamentary life. He was 
 probably far happier with his hounds and his fighting 
 cocks in Devon or Somerset than in London. Having 
 secured both seats at Minehead at the General 
 Election, he was confident that nobody could with- 
 stand his interest at a by-election for one seat, and 
 he was in a position to negotiate profitably with 
 Lord North or with that famous dealer in boroughs, 
 John Robinson. There is in his handwriting a 
 memorandum which, although undated, may almost 
 certainly be referred to the autumn of 1774: —
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 257 
 
 " Preliminaries to be settled previous to my ^c. 
 
 Five hundred pounds to be paid at all events. In case 
 the person is returned, 3 or 2500/. more to be paid within 
 one month after such return. 
 
 Not to ask for any place belonging to the town of Govern- 
 ment, unless by Mr.... desire. 
 
 Not to offer himself or his friend for the borough at the 
 next General Election, nor upon any vacancy that may 
 happen in the meanwhile, unless by Mr.... approbation. 
 The person to pay all his own and servants (.'') ^c. expenses." 
 
 Whether all these conditions v^ere accepted does 
 not appear, but it is certain that Henry Fownes 
 Luttrell resigned his seat within a few weeks of the 
 General Election, and that Thomas Pownall, a support- 
 er of the Ministry, was chosen to fill the place, on 
 the 31st of December 1774. The expenses of this 
 by-election amounted to less than 50/. Seventy-eight 
 of the elite of Minehead were invited to a ball in 
 October 1775. In Parliament, Pownall distinguished 
 himself by his independence of political parties, espe- 
 cially with regard to the American question.^ 
 
 At the general election of 1780, Henry Fownes 
 Luttrell pursued the policy which had proved so 
 successful in 1774, and announced that his interest 
 would be exercised in favour of two candidates bear- 
 ing the name of Luttrell. The proceedings have been 
 minutely recorded by George Gale : — 
 
 " Monday, September 4th. The writ dated this day and 
 brought by the Sheriff's bailiff to Dunster Castle and staid 
 there all night. 
 
 Tuesday 5th. The writ delivered to Mr. Chappell, the 
 Constable, by the Sheriff's man at half past ten in the 
 morning and pubHshed immediately for election to come 
 on Saturday 9 September at eleven in morning. N.B. Mr. 
 Luttrell gave the Sheriff"'s officer loj. 6^. The colours and 
 music and guns at Alcomb Cross. 
 
 ' Dictionary of National Biography, vol. xlvi. p. 264. 
 
 h
 
 258 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 Wednesday 6th. Mr. J. F. Luttrell and Mr. F. F. Luttrell 
 offered themselves and began canvassing about eleven and 
 ended about half after six, attended by Mr. Luttrell, 
 Mr. Russell and son, Mr. Cuttiff, and a great number of 
 the gentry of the town. George Gale attended to take 
 minutes. Not one dyssenting voyce. 
 
 Thursday 6th. Mr. J. Luttrell and Mr. F. F. Luttrell, 
 attended by young Mr. Russell and Revd Mr. James 
 Camplin, and from Bratton by some of the town gentlemen, 
 canvassed the country, except the two Mynes and Green- 
 aleigh. Came back to dinner at the first sitting at the 
 Luttrell Arms Inn. 
 
 Friday 8th. At home all day, nothing doing. 
 
 Saturday 9th. A little after ten, Mr. Luttrell on horse- 
 back, Mr. J. Luttrell and Mr. F. F. Luttrell in the chaise, 
 Mr. Russell and son, Mr. Cuttiff, self and Mr. Crang, Mr. 
 Roberts and others of Dunster, set out on horseback and 
 were met by several of the Minehead gentlemen on horse- 
 back between Dunster and Elicombe Cross where Mr. 
 Cox took the constables foremost and all the horse follow- 
 ing two and two and then the chaise with the two candidates 
 followed close after and passing a concourse of people at 
 Alcomb Cross they halted immediately beyond while the 
 guns fired and three huzzas given, the colours iffc. being 
 ahead. Then proceeded first the colours and music and 
 after them the clubmen with their white staffs, then the 
 constables and after them all the horsemen two and two, 
 and then the chaise with the candidates, and proceeded to 
 town. The colours ^c. halting a little below, the horses were 
 taken away and the chaise came forward and the two candi- 
 dates came out at Mr. Cox's where all stopt and the guns 
 firing behind till the oaths i^c. were ingrossed. Then pro- 
 ceeded the colours drums and music, with the two constables 
 close after and the two candidates with hats off following, 
 and all the people after, on to the Market place, where a 
 table was placed and a chair to get on it. Then the two cons- 
 tables and Mr. Bastone read the Sheriffs precept and publi- 
 cation of it. (Bribery Act should have been read.) Then 
 two constables sworn and signed the aflidavit taken by Mr. 
 Hayman, Then Mr. Bastone read the Bribery Act, which 
 should have been read before the two constables were sworn.
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 259 
 
 Then constables asked voters who they proposed. The 
 answer was J. F. Luttrell and F. F. Luttrell, Esqrs. and 
 three huzzas, (but the two candidates should [have] offered.) 
 Then removed to polHng house. " 
 
 There William Hayman, who is described as 
 ' esquire ' and nine others v\^hose names are prefixed 
 by ' Mr, ' recorded a vote apiece for the two candi- 
 dates. 
 
 "Then silence proclaimed and proclamation made and 
 asked by the constables if anyone chused to set up or vote 
 for any other person, or any other person offered as a candi- 
 date, to which " No " was answered, and then the constables 
 polled for the same gentlemen, and, silence being proclaimed 
 again, the constables said that on casting up the votes they 
 found the majority in favour of John Fownes Luttrell and 
 Francis Fownes Luttrell, Esquires, and therefore declared 
 them duly elected. 
 
 " Then Mr. John Fownes Luttrell addressed himself to 
 the people thanking them for the present as well as past 
 favours and hoped to continue to merit them. Then Mr. 
 Francis Fownes Luttrell addressed himself to them and 
 thanked them for the favour conferred on him and his pro- 
 ceedings in the trust will give them satisfaction so as to merit 
 it. Then three huzzas given. 
 
 " The two elected members were carried in two chairs to 
 Mr. Cox's and the populace following they were there again 
 thanked by the two elected members and by Mr. Luttrell, 
 and then they dispersed quietly, and not a farthing spent in 
 the canvass or election. " 
 
 Henry Fownes Luttrell died on the 30th October 
 1780, and was buried at Dunster. By Margaret his 
 wife he had issue altogether ten children : — 
 
 Alexander, born on the 31st of March 1749, baptiz- 
 ed at Dunster on the following day, and buried 
 there three months later. 
 
 John, his heir.
 
 26o A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. vii. 
 
 Henry, born at Tetton on the 30th of July 1753. 
 He became a Lieutenant in the Royal Horse Guards 
 Blue, but died early. He was probably the sub- 
 ject of a portrait at Dunster Castle of a young man 
 in a blue coat with bars of gold lace and a white 
 silk waistcoat. He was buried at Dunster on the 
 4th of January 1777. 
 
 Alexander (2). ^ 
 
 Francis. ^ 
 
 Thomas, born at Dunster on the loth of February, 
 1763. Entering the army in 1782 as an Ensign 
 in the 89th Foot, he became a Lieutenant in the 
 49th Foot in the following year and Captain in 
 1787. From that year until 1800, he was Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel of the Somersetshire Fencible In- 
 fantry. In October 1807, he married Catherine 
 daughter of John Cave Browne of Stretton-in-le- 
 fields in Derbyshire. ^ Dying on the 1 9th of January 
 181 1, he was buried eight days later in the Abbey 
 Church at Bath. 
 
 Margaret (Peggy), born at Dunster on Christmas Day 
 1747 and baptized there. When she was between 
 three and four years old, she was painted at full 
 length by Richard Phelps with a dog beside her. In 
 April 1769, she sat in London to an artist of a very 
 different calibre. Sir Joshua Reynolds's list of 
 sitters for that month records the name of 'Miss 
 Luttrell, ' and there is a note in his hand : — 
 " When Miss Luttrell is finished to write Mr. Lutt- 
 rell, Dunster Castle, Somersetshire." With this clear 
 evidence before them, biographers of Reynolds have 
 gone out of their way to describe the subject as the 
 daughter of an Irish peer and the sister of the 
 
 ', », See Appendix. » Monthly Magazine, p. 141.
 
 Si): .7. h'eijUKlds 
 
 MARGARET FOWNES Ll'l TRKLl,. 
 (MRS. SOCTHCOTK.)
 
 CH. VII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 261 
 
 Duchess of Cumberland. ^ The original portrait 
 and a contemporary copy of it are alike at Dunster 
 Castle. One of them has hung there ever since it 
 was finished. The other belonged for some seventy 
 years to successive members of the Southcote 
 family, for on the 24th of April 1769, when the 
 picture was barely finished, Margaret Fownes 
 Luttrell was married, at St. Anne's Soho, to 
 John Henry Southcote, of Buckland Toutsaints, 
 and Stoke Fleming in Devonshire. There is a 
 portrait of him also at Dunster Castle, painted some 
 fifteen or twenty years later and attributed to Opie. 
 Mrs. Southcote died in 1792. Her husband sur- 
 vived until 1820. ' 
 
 Anne, baptized at Dunster on the 4th of July 1750 
 and buried there on the i8th of August. 
 
 Anne (2), baptized at Dunster on the 30th of June 175 i 
 and buried there on the ist of August. 
 
 Anne (3), baptized at Dunster on the 4th of May 1758 
 and buried there on the 1 2th of August. 
 
 Margaret Fownes Luttrell, the heiress of Dunster, 
 having died in 1766, her husband remained a wid- 
 ower for some years. In 1 771, he married Frances 
 daughter of Samuel Bradley of Dunster, who claimed 
 descent from the Luttrells through her mother. 
 After his death, she resided at Taunton, but she was 
 buried at Dunster in November 1803. 
 
 ' Leslie & Taylor's Life of Sir J. * Gentleman's Magazine, vol. xxxix. 
 
 Reynolds, vol. i. p. 347; Graves. p. 270.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Fownes Luttrells of Dunster 
 1780-1908. 
 
 John Fownes Luttrell, eldest son of Henry and 
 Margaret, was baptized at Dunster on the 24th of 
 June 1752. He matriculated at Queen's College, 
 Oxford, in 1770, but did not proceed to a degree. 
 As has been seen above, he was returned to Parliament 
 for the borough of Minehead in 1774, and again in 
 1780. On the death of his father in November of 
 the latter year, he succeeded to the family estates, 
 but some little time seems to have elapsed before he 
 rewarded with four guineas apiece those of the Mine- 
 head electors who had supported him at the poll. In an 
 " alphabetical list of voters, " there is a note by George 
 Gale — " those marked ' Gent. ' do not take money and are 
 invited to the annual treats." Among these ' gentlemen' 
 were the local surgeons, the captains of several ships, 
 a farmer, a butcher, a glazier, and a roper. 
 
 In the early part of 1783, Francis Fownes Luttrell, 
 thejunior member for Minehead, accepted the steward- 
 ship of the Chiltern Hundreds, and his brother brought 
 in Henry Beaufoy of Shropshire, without a word of 
 opposition. The exact terms of the agreement between 
 them are not recorded, but it may fairly be assumed 
 that the stranger was made to pay. 
 
 After the dissolution of Parliament in the following
 
 CH. VIII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 263 
 
 year, John Fownes Luttrell and Henry Beaufoy were 
 re-elected for Minehead, but the latter, having been 
 returned also for Great Yarmouth, decided to serve 
 for the East Anglian borough. Charles Phipps of 
 Mulgrave Hall, in Yorkshire, was chosen in his stead, 
 but died in 1786 and was succeeded by Robert Wood 
 of Lyme Grove, in Surrey. 
 
 At the General Election of 1790, John Fownes 
 Luttrell was returned for Minehead, together with 
 George, Viscount Parker, who was appointed Con- 
 troller of the Household in the following year. Al- 
 though there had not been any contest, sixty-one of 
 the electors eventually received four guineas apiece. 
 When Lord Parker succeeded to the Earldom of 
 Macclesfield in 1795, Luttrell was unprovided with a 
 suitable candidate willing to purchase a fairly safe seat. 
 In order therefore to maintain the interest of Dunster 
 Castle in the borough, he put forward his own brother, 
 Thomas Fownes Luttrell, who was duly elected. 
 
 After a long period of tranquillity, the little borough 
 of Minehead was, in 1796, agitated by a severe elect- 
 oral contest, four candidates coming forward for the 
 two seats. On the one side were John Fownes 
 Luttrell of Dunster Castle and his brother Colonel 
 Thomas Fownes Luttrell; on the other John Langston 
 of Sarsden House in Oxfordshire, and Rear-Admiral 
 Charles Morice Pole. Whether there was any politi- 
 cal question at issue does not appear. The electors 
 were, however, exhorted by Langston and his friends 
 to free themselves from " tyrannic sway." The poll 
 was opened on Saturday the 28th of May and closed 
 on the evening of the 30th, when the Luttrells were 
 exhausted and their opponents in almost the same 
 condition. The result of the voting was not entirely 
 satisfactory to either side : —
 
 264 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. viii. 
 
 J. Fownes Luttrell, 97, 
 
 J. Langston, 94, 
 
 T. Fownes Luttrell, 85, 
 
 C. M. Pole, 82. 
 
 John Fownes Luttrell and John Langston were ac- 
 cordingly returned to Westminster. 
 
 After the election was over, a list was made of no 
 less than eighty-two persons who had promised one 
 vote to John Fownes Luttrell, but who at the poll 
 recorded both their votes against him. Considering 
 that several of these ' turncoats ' were tenants who 
 had not for several years paid the rent due to him, it 
 is clear that his opponents must have offered them 
 some very substantial inducement to vote openly 
 against their landlord. Having got into Parliament, 
 Langston applied himself to strengthening his interest 
 at Minehead, by buying land and building houses 
 there. On the other hand, twenty-four of " the 
 principal inhabitants " met at the Plume of Feathers 
 in November, " to form some plan for recovering 
 and effectually securing Mr. Luttrell's interest " and 
 unanimously passed several resolutions. They recom- 
 mended, for instance, that Mr. Luttrell should repair 
 " the common houses " and erect temporary shambles 
 for the butchers. Their third resolution was : — 
 
 " That Mr. Luttrell be recommended to dispossess all 
 such persons of their houses, grounds, etc. as were inimical 
 to his interest at the last election. " 
 
 They, moreover, bound themselves to give a prefer- 
 ence in the employment of labourers to all such as 
 had supported Mr. Luttrell at the recent election. 
 
 A very circumstantial and withal fairly candid 
 account of the Minehead election in 1802, was laid 
 before Thomas Plumer, afterwards Master of the Rolls.
 
 CH. VIII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 265 
 
 From this we learn that John Langston, one of the 
 sitting members, and James Woodbridge offered them- 
 selves as candidates on Easter Day, the i8th of April, 
 and that, tv\ro days later, John Fow^nes Luttrell began 
 a canvass on behalf of himself and " his friend " un- 
 specified. Entertainments were given by both parties. 
 
 " Mr. Luttrell, the proprietor of every inn in the borough, 
 opened them to the number of thirteen, in the usual manner 
 upon such occasions. Billets were made out by his agents 
 for a certain number of the voters in his interest to go to 
 each of the several inns, where suppers were very frequently 
 given, liquor was always ready to be distributed, and in short 
 the most unlimited treating took place. Mr. Langston's 
 and Mr. Woodbridge's voters were entertained as constantly, 
 in a room fitted up for the purpose out of a barn, and in 
 another room within the borough, and, except that Mr. 
 Luttrell's entertainments were the most liberal as to the food 
 and liquor provided, no distinction can be made between the 
 treating on either side. " 
 
 On the 1 6th of May, John Patteson came to stay 
 at Dunster Castle, and on the morrow his host in- 
 troduced him to the borough as the person whom he 
 intended to support. According to an arrangement 
 between them, Luttrell managed the campaign and 
 paid all the expenses. Treating continued until the 
 28th of June, when Luttrell and Patteson announced 
 that it must cease, because Parliament was about to be 
 dissolved. Their opponents, however, went on as 
 before. At this juncture, Mr. Lethbridge, " a gentle- 
 man of very large property and a particular friend of 
 Mr. Luttrell," appeared on the scene and said that 
 the public-houses must be kept open, he himself 
 undertaking to pay all consequent expenses. This, we 
 are told, he did " without the least view to remunera- 
 tion" and "from pure regard to Mr. Luttrell's interest." 
 Indeed, he was prepared to " state " that he had not
 
 266 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. viii. 
 
 " the least prospect or expectation of repayment, " 
 although he had suffered no pecuniary loss through 
 lending his name for a similar purpose at the previous 
 election. 
 
 After the issue of the writ, Langston and Wood- 
 bridge became more liberal than before, while the 
 supporters of Luttrell and Patteson were restricted to 
 bread and cheese in a large room, the liquor at the 
 inns being supplied by Lethbridge, without authority 
 from them. At the last moment, two fresh candidates 
 were put up against the Castle interest, in view of the 
 possibility that the House of Commons might disallow 
 the return of any of the others. The poll for this little 
 borough was kept open no less than five days, the 
 result being declared on the 5th of July, as follows: — 
 
 Luttrell, 
 
 139. 
 
 Patteson, 
 
 139. 
 
 Langston, 
 
 108, 
 
 Woodbridge, 
 
 106, 
 
 Caslett, 
 
 13. 
 
 Walters, 
 
 13- 
 
 This election seems to have aroused a good deal of 
 ill feeling. On the one hand, Luttrell began proceed- 
 ings against some of his neighbours for libel ; on the 
 other hand, the defeated candidates presented a petition 
 against the return. Luttrell had " not the least 
 apprehension" that he could be unseated for bribery. 
 " Upon his canvass, he uniformly rejected to receive 
 the promise of any vote attended with any condition 
 whatever." With regard to treating, his position 
 was much weaker, and the returning officers, who 
 were virtually his nominees, had refused the aid of an 
 experienced assessor. In the case submitted to coun- 
 sel by his agents, there is an ingenuous confession : —
 
 CH. VIII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 267 
 
 " How to state the conduct of the returning officers so as 
 to show that they did not act illegally, partially, and corruptly, 
 is felt from the nature of things to be very difficult. " 
 
 As the other side had equally valid reasons for shunning 
 a public enquiry, a compromise was eventually made, 
 Luttrell undertaking to stop his prosecutions, and 
 Langston and Woodbridge undertaking to drop their 
 petition. Furthermore, in August 1803, Langston 
 agreed to sell to Luttrell all his property in the borough 
 of Minehead, consisting largely of houses built for the 
 purpose of creating votes. Three arbitrators learned 
 in the law fixed the price at 7,000/. Finally, William 
 Davis of Alcombe, merchant, published an apology 
 for having issued " a most false, scandalous, and malici- 
 ous libel " on John Fownes Luttrell, esquire. 
 
 The papers at Dunster Castle afford very little in- 
 formation about the General Election of 1 806. Under 
 date of the 22nd of October, there is a "rough list 
 of inhabitants of Minehead likely to vote for Mr. Lut- 
 trell and his friend." Then there is a " list of voters 
 as they were billeted to the different houses in Mine- 
 head for a supper and drink, the 24th October. " 
 Lastly, there is a hst of seventy-two " gentlemen to 
 be invited to dine at the Plume of Feathers Inn in 
 Minehead, on Wednesday the 5 th day of November 
 1806." The election had already been held on the 
 ist of the month, when Sir John Lethbridge and 
 Lord Rancliffe had been returned. Luttrell had with- 
 drawn at the last moment, but it is practically certain 
 that both the members were his nominees, Lethbridge 
 resigned within a few weeks and John Fownes Luttrell 
 was returned in his place on the 1 4th of January 1 807. 
 
 Another dissolution of Parliament followed very 
 shortly, the King desiring a House of Commons that 
 would support the ministry formed by the Duke of
 
 268 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. viii. 
 
 Portland. On this occasion, a final attempt was made 
 to overthrow the supremacy of the Castle interest in 
 the borough of Minehead. The struggle was very- 
 brief. On the 6th of May 1807, the Hon. Thomas 
 Bowes issued a printed address " to the worthy and 
 independent electors, " which did not contain the 
 slightest reference to his political views ; he simply 
 asked them to exercise their "freedom of suffrage, " 
 and declared his desire to protect them " from the 
 shackles and abuses of tyranny and corruption. " A 
 song composed on his behalf similarly asks : — 
 
 " Shall Britons bold be bought and sold 
 Slave-like — mere traffic in a fair ? " 
 
 The poll was opened on the 8th of May, and after 
 seven o'clock in the evening " the Hon. Thomas 
 Bowes sent a letter to Mr. William Leigh, informing 
 him that he would not give Mr. Luttrell any further 
 trouble. " Only thirty-four electors recorded their 
 votes on the following day, and when the numbers 
 were officially counted, the result was declared : — 
 
 John Fownes Luttrell, 123, 
 John Denison, 108, 
 
 Hon. Thomas Bowes, 64. 
 
 In 18 1 2, John Fownes Luttrell and his son, John 
 Fownes Luttrell the younger, were elected " by ac- 
 clamation and with the most cordial demonstrations 
 of regard." The event was celebrated by a ball in 
 November, to which about a hundred and fifty persons 
 were invited, all belonging to the professional and 
 commercial class. 
 
 The administration of the Dunster estate by John 
 Fownes Luttrell the elder was marked by several 
 changes, all tending to a concentration of his interest. 
 Between the years 1789 and 1793, he purchased from
 
 J.Voiniman. 
 
 MARY DREWE. 
 (Mrs. FOWNES LUTTRELL.)
 
 CH. VIII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 269 
 
 Lord Stawell the whole of the Stewkley inheritance 
 at Dunster, comprising the rectorial tithes, the advow- 
 son, and several burgages and fields at Marsh. In 
 1796, he paid 8,000/. to Juliana, Lady Langham, 
 daughter and eventual heiress of George Musgrave, 
 for the impropriate rectory and the advowson of the 
 adjoining parish of Carhampton, with a house and a 
 few acres called Uphill at Rodhuish. Fifteen years 
 later, he bought the manor of Sandhill in the parish 
 of Carhampton from Hugh Escott. As a set-off 
 against these purchases, he sold the outlying manor of 
 Heathfield Durborough to John Perring of Combe 
 Florey, in 1803, for the sum of 22,000/. 
 
 At an earlier period of his life, John Fownes Lut- 
 trell had taken considerable interest in horses, and 
 there are at Dunster Castle silver cups won by him 
 at Lichfield races in 1781 and at Totnes races eight 
 years later. He married, on the 2nd of August 
 1782, Mary daughter of Francis Drewe of Grange, 
 in Devonshire, and by her had issue five sons and 
 four daughters : — 
 John, his heir. 
 
 Henry, successor to his brother. 
 
 Francis, born on the loth of February 1792, and 
 baptized at Dunster. He matriculated at Christ 
 Church, Oxford in 1 8 10, but left without a degree, 
 accepting a commission in the Grenadier Guards in 
 March 18 13, just in time to take part in the ex- 
 pulsion of the French from Spain. He was stay- 
 ing at Dunster Castle when the news arrived of 
 Napoleon's escape from Elba, and he forthwith went 
 up to London, whence he proceeded by Ramsgate, 
 Ostend, and Ghent, to join his battalion at Enghien. 
 At the battle of Waterloo, he was wounded in the 
 hand. On the 2 1 st of February 1 8 24, he married,
 
 2/0 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. viii. 
 
 at Kensington, his cousin Louisa daughter of Samuel 
 Drewe, and he sold his commission in April 1825. 
 Settling at Kilve Court as a country gentleman, he 
 became the first chairman of the Williton Board of 
 Guardians and the first Master of the West Somerset 
 Fox-hounds. In 1 8 39, he was appointed Lieutenant- 
 Colonel of the Second Regiment of Somerset Militia. 
 He died on the 4th of January 1862 and was buried 
 at Dunster, where there is a stained glass window 
 in memory of him. Mrs. Luttrell survived until 
 1 88 1. They had issue nine children : — 
 George, successor to his uncle, Henry Fownes 
 
 Luttrell, of Dunster Castle. 
 Edward, of Kilve Court, born in 1 83 1 and educated 
 
 at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford. He died 
 
 on the 3rd of July 1865. 
 Arthur John, born in 1832, entered the Royal 
 
 Navy and died at Penang in 1847. 
 Francis, born in 1836 and educated at Eton and 
 
 Oriel College, Oxford. He died in Natal in 
 
 1 880. By Helena his wife, daughter of Stephanus 
 
 Maritz of Natal, he left issue two daughters, 
 
 Helena Louisa (Nina) and Margery. 
 Reginald, born in 1839 and educated at Eton and 
 
 Oriel College, Oxford. He died at Torquay 
 
 in 1866. 
 Augusta Margaret born in May 1825 and baptized 
 
 at Kilve. She died in 1880. 
 Charlotte, born in 1828 and died in 1842. 
 Caroline, born in 1829 and burned to death at 
 
 Kilve Court in 1856. 
 Mary Anne, married in 1861 to Henry Anstey 
 
 Bosanquet, barrister at law, afterwards of Clan- 
 
 ville in Minehead. 
 Alexander, rector of East Quantockshead.
 
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 ^^^^■jJk''^ Ili^^^^^^^H 
 
 ^H 
 
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 piil 
 
 W / fcL. ^H 
 
 f 
 
 ^^g J 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^dl 
 
 ./. r>/j/V 
 
 JOHX FOWNES LU TTRELL.
 
 CH. VIII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 271 
 
 Thomas, born on the iith of September 1794 and 
 baptized at Dunster. Like his three elder brothers, 
 he was educated at Eton, whence he proceeded to 
 Exeter College, Oxford, in 18 14. Entering holy 
 orders, he served the cure of Dunster from 1821 
 until 1872, holding also the vicarage of Minehead 
 for some years, and from 1832 onwards the vicarage 
 of Carhampton. At the close of his life, he built 
 the school at Dunster, and he died there in De- 
 cember 1 87 1. 
 Mary Anne, born on the 27th of July 1783, and 
 baptized at Dunster. She was buried there in 
 May 1835. 
 Margaret, born on the 8th of October 1784 and 
 baptized at Dunster. She was buried there in 
 June 1858. 
 Charlotte, born on the 23rd of March 1786 and 
 baptized at Dunster. She was buried there in 
 March 1791. 
 Harriet, born on the 21st of October 1788 and 
 baptized at Dunster. She was buried there in 
 April 1870. 
 John Fownes Luttrell died in February 1 8 1 6 and was 
 buried at Dunster. His relict survived until March 
 1829. There is a good portrait of him by Opie, for 
 which he paid only four guineas in 1782, the artist 
 being then young and almost unknown. ' There is 
 also a miniature of him set in diamonds. 
 
 A charming pair of oval drawings by John Down- 
 man, dated 1781, represents two Misses Drewe, Mary 
 afterwards the wife of John Fownes Luttrell, and 
 Charlotte afterwards the wife of his brother Francis 
 Fownes Luttrell. 
 
 ' In Rogers's Opic and his works the possession of a Mr. J. S. Townsend, 
 (p. 122), this picture is stated to be in who cannot be identifted.
 
 2/2 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. viii. 
 
 John Fownes Luttrell the second was born on 
 the 26th of August 1787 and baptized at Dunster. 
 He was educated at Eton and at Oriel College, Oxford, 
 where he took the degree of M.A. Succeeding to 
 the family estate in 18 16, he soon increased it by 
 purchasing the manor of Eastbury and Briddicot Farm, 
 both situate in Carhampton and formerly the property 
 of the Perceval family. 
 
 It has been seen above that this John Fownes 
 Luttrell was returned as one of the members for 
 Minehead during the lifetime of his father. He 
 was duly re-elected without opposition in 1 8 1 8 and 
 after four subsequent dissolutions of Parliament, and 
 on each occasion he nominated his own colleague. 
 In the Reform Bill, Minehead, with an electorate 
 of only two hundred and fifteen voters, mostly his 
 tenants, was scheduled for disfranchisement. The 
 proposal of course aroused his keen opposition. He 
 and his agent prepared an elaborate case on behalf 
 of the threatened constituency, giving such facts 
 and statistics as appeared favourable to it, and some 
 adroit references to the historic importance of Dun- 
 ster. By way of showing that Minehead was not 
 a mere pocket-borough of the Luttrells, the case 
 states that there had been two contested elections 
 there within the previous thirty years, though it 
 prudently refrains from giving the dates of them. 
 In proposing moreover that the parishes of Car- 
 hampton, Withycombe, Wootton Courtenay and 
 Timberscombe should be included in the parlia- 
 mentary borough, it does not mention that the 
 Luttrell influence was predominant in at least two 
 of them. Lord John Russell and his followers were 
 not to be moved by such devices, and, in 1832, 
 Minehead lost the right of sending up represent-
 
 CH. VIII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 273 
 
 atives to Westminster. After its disfranchisement, 
 John Fownes Luttrell stood for the western division 
 of the county in the Tory interest, but he was not 
 successful. ^ He died unmarried and was buried at 
 Dunster on the 21st of January 1857. 
 
 Henry Fownes Luttrell, second son of the first 
 John Fownes Luttrell, was born on the 7th of Febru- 
 ary 1790 and baptized at Dunster. He was educated 
 at Eton and at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he 
 proceeded B. A. On the death of his father in 1 8 1 6, 
 he was elected to succeed him as one of the Members 
 for Minehead, and he was re-elected in 1 8 1 8 and 
 again in 1820, but he resigned his seat in 1822, in 
 order to become one of the Commissioners for audit- 
 ing the Public Accounts. Many years of his life 
 were spent in London, as he held office until 1 849. 
 He succeeded his brother John at Dunster in 1857, 
 but died unmarried in October 1867. 
 
 George Fownes Luttrell, eldest son of Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel Francis Fownes Luttrell, was born at 
 Kilve on the 27th of September 1826. He was 
 educated at Eton, where he succeeded his cousin 
 H.A. Fownes Luttrell as Captain of the Boats. He 
 afterwards went to Christ Church, Oxford, and pro- 
 ceeded B.A. On the death of his father, he became 
 Master of the West Somerset Fox-hounds, which he 
 kept as a private pack for some years after his success- 
 ion to his uncle, Henry Fownes Luttrell, in 1867. 
 
 In 1 873, the Dunster estate comprised 15,374 acres, 
 with a gross rental of 22,000/. ' Viscount Portman, 
 Sir J. H. Greville Smyth, and Sir Thomas Dyke Acland 
 
 ' Some doggrel lines on ' Luttrell the history of the borough, 
 standing against Sanford ' quoted in * Bateman'sGrert/L(im/i7:rHfrs,(i883) 
 
 Hancock's Miuehcad, p. 361, refer to p. 284. 
 this election, and are unconnected with
 
 274 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. viii. 
 
 were the only persons with a larger or more valuable 
 property in Somerset. In addition to this, Mr. Lut- 
 trell was entered in 1873 as owning 1852 acres in 
 Devonshire, the inheritance of the Fownes family, 
 most of which he sold in the following year. The 
 estate in Somerset had been materially enlarged in 
 1870, by the purchase of the manor of Old Cleeve, 
 including the very interesting and beautiful remains 
 of the Abbey of St. Mary in the Flowery Vale, those 
 of the dependent Chapel of St. Mary a little to the 
 north, and the Jacobean house called Binham. None 
 who can remember the time when the cloisters of 
 Cleeve Abbey served as pigstyes, can fail to appreciate 
 the care that has been bestowed upon the monastic 
 buildings during the last thirty years and more. In 
 1870, Avill was acquired from Sir Thomas Dyke 
 Acland, in exchange for land between Minehead and 
 Selworthy. Twenty-one years later, Aller in Car- 
 hampton, formerly the residence of the Everards, was 
 added to the Luttrell estate. An interesting comparison 
 might be drawn between the position of the medieval 
 lords of Dunster, owning a number of isolated manors 
 in different counties and that of their present repre- 
 sentative, owning a large but more compact estate in 
 the immediate neighbourhood of his own residence. 
 
 The important alterations made by Mr. Luttrell in 
 the Castle and the Church at Dunster will be des- 
 cribed in future chapters. Those made by him at 
 Minehead, at East Quantockshead and elsewhere 
 hardly come within the scope of the present volume. 
 
 A notable event in the local annals was the then 
 Prince of Wales's visit to Dunster in August 1879, 
 when he stayed two nights at the Castle, and went to 
 a meet of the Devon and Somerset Stag-hounds at 
 Hawkcombe Head.
 
 CH. VIII. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 275 
 
 Mr. Luttrell married, in August 1852, Anne Eliza- 
 beth Periam, daughter of Sir Alexander Hood, baronet, 
 and has issue : — 
 
 Alexander, born on the ist of June 1855 and educated 
 at Eton. After serving for about a year in the 
 Rifle Brigade, he received a commission in the 
 Grenadier Guards in 1 876. He was in the Soudan 
 campaign at Suakim in 1885 and became Captain. 
 He married, in April 1886, Alice Edwina daughter 
 of Colonel Munro Ferguson of Raith and Novar 
 in Scotland, and has issue two sons : — 
 
 Geoffrey, born on the 20th of May 1887. 
 Ralph Paganel, born on the 26th of May 1889. 
 Hugh Courtenay, born on the loth of February 1857 
 and educated at Cheltenham. He served for some 
 time in the Rifle Brigade and was Aide-de-Camp 
 successively to Earls Cowper and Spencer when 
 Lords Lieutenant of Ireland. He has been Mem- 
 ber for the Tavistock division of Devonshire from 
 1892 to 1900 and from 1906 to the present time. 
 He married in February 1904, Dorothy Hope, 
 daughter of Sir William Wedderburn, baronet, and 
 has issue three daughters, Mary, Louisa and Eliza- 
 beth. 
 Edward, born on the 24th of September 1858 and 
 
 educated at Eton. 
 Claude Mohun, born on the 9th of September 1867, 
 and educated at Eton and Magdalen College, 
 Oxford. 
 Mary. 
 Beatrice.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Borough and the Manor of Dunster. 
 
 The earliest historical mention of Dunster is to be 
 found in the survey of the lands of William de Mohun 
 made in 1086. In the Exeter Domesday we read: — 
 
 " William has a manor which is called Torra, which Alvric 
 held on the day on which King Edward was living and dead; 
 and he paid geld for half a hide. One plough can till it. 
 There William has his castle, and fifteen bordars, and two 
 mills which pay ten shillings, and five acres of meadow and 
 thirty acres of pasture. It is worth fifteen shillings and [it 
 was worth] five shillings when he obtained it. " 
 
 In considering this brief record, it is necessary to 
 bear in mind that the manor of Torre thus described 
 w^as not co-extensive vv^ith the parish of Dunster. 
 Avill, Alcombe and Staunton, alike belonging to 
 William de Mohun in 1086 and alvs^ays included in 
 the parish, w^ere separate manors. Each of them 
 contained more arable land than Torre. On the 
 basis of hidage, Alcombe and Staunton were more 
 important than Torre, and Avill v^as equal to it. In 
 actual value, Alcombe was worth more than Torre, 
 and Avill and Staunton were worth less only because 
 of the very great improvement of Torre during the 
 two decades between the Norman invasion and the 
 compilation of Domesday Book.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 277 
 
 There is nothing in the quotation given above to 
 show that the inhabitants of Dunster differed from 
 those of the agricultural villages in the neighbourhood. 
 In the course of the twelfth century, however, a little 
 town grew up under the shadow of the mighty castle 
 of the Mohuns. There is mention of toll levied there 
 in 1 177, and twenty years later Dunster is described as 
 a borough which yielded 20/. a year to its lord. ^ 
 
 When an attempt was made in 1222 to establish a 
 market at Watchet, the government of Henry the 
 Third caused it to be suppressed without delay, on 
 the score that it would be injurious to the market of 
 Dunster, the lord of that place being then a ward of 
 the Crown. ^ 
 
 The following is a translation of the earliest charter 
 relating to this market, under the seal of Reynold de 
 Mohun the second : — 
 
 " Know all men present and future that I, Reynold de 
 Moyhun, have given, granted and by this my present charter 
 confirmed to Hugh Rondevin and Robert Luci and Robert 
 the Hunter {yenatori) and Roger Pryer and Robert Chipera 
 and Simon Coc, my burgesses of Dunster, and their heirs, 
 the right of having and for ever possessing of me and my 
 heirs a market and fair in the same in North Street (in eodem 
 vico del Nord)y freely and quietly and wholly, and without 
 removal and impediment of me and my heirs. 
 
 " On account of this gift and grant to be held of me and 
 my heirs by them and their heirs for ever, the aforesaid 
 burgesses have given to me a tun of wine of the price of 
 forty shillings as an acknowledgement. 
 
 " In assurance of this, I have affixed my seal to this writ- 
 ing ; these being witnesses : — Sir John de Regni, Roges son 
 of Simon, William Everadd, Richard of Holne, Roger 
 Pollard, Robert of Cogstane, Geoffrey of Kytenor, Geoffrey 
 of Lucumbe, and others. " * 
 
 1 Pipe Rolls. * D.C.M. VIII. I ; Gcntlevtan's Maga- 
 
 » Rotuli Litt. Clausarum, vol. i. p. 527. zitie, vol. Ixxviii. p. 874.
 
 278 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 The following charter can be definitely assigned to 
 the period between 1254 and 1258 : — 
 
 " To all the faithful of Christ to whom the present writing 
 shall come, Reynold de Moyun, greeting. Know ye all that 
 I have granted, released, and quit-claimed for ever for me 
 and my heirs and all others who after me shall in any way 
 be lords, or guardians, or bailiffs of Dunesterre, that the 
 burgesses of that town or their heirs shall in no wise here- 
 after be made reeves, or farmers of the sea-port or of the toll 
 of the borough or of the mills of the same town, against 
 their will. 
 
 " I have also granted to the same burgesses and their 
 heirs that they shall be quit of yearly tallage, so that no 
 tallage according to the custom of other boroughs of England 
 shall be exacted from them save for reasonable and due 
 cause. 
 
 " I will moreover and grant for me and my heirs and all 
 who shall be lords, or bailiffs, or guardians of Dunesterre, 
 that the said burgesses and their heirs shall have common 
 on Crowedon without any claim or impediment, as good for 
 their use as they were wont to have in the time of any of 
 [my] predecessors. 
 
 " And that buyers or sellers in the market of Dunesterre 
 shall be quit of toll, unless their buying or selling exceed 
 twelve pence. Likewise fishermen and cornmongers shall 
 be quit of toll in the said market for ever. 
 
 " I will moreover, granting for me and my heirs, lords, 
 guardians and bailiffs of Dunesterre, that hereafter we shall 
 not be able to make prise (captionem) from the brew of any 
 one in the same town beyond twenty-four gallons, that is to 
 say four gallons for a penny. If, however, we shall wish 
 to have more ale from that brew, it shall be bought at the 
 rate at which buyers of the country (patrie) buy of the 
 same. And that nobody hereafter shall make in the town 
 of Dunesterre that ale which is called Reeve's Ale (Cervisia 
 Prepositi). If, however, it shall have been made, the brewers 
 (pandoxatores) of the same town shall not for that reason 
 cease from brewing and making ale and selling as they ought 
 if that ale had not been brewed. 
 
 " And that if [the burgesses] shall fall into mercy for any
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 279 
 
 offence, they shall be quit for six pence, except for laying 
 hands upon the lord, or the lady, or any of the household of 
 the Castle. 
 
 " And that after the buyings of the lord at the sea-port 
 or in the aforesaid market have been made, [the burgesses] 
 shall forthwith be able to buy whatever they may wish to 
 buy without objection (querela) or hindrance, and that others 
 of the country (de patria) shall not be able to do their buying 
 before them. 
 
 " And if they shall find a rabbit hurtful to them, they 
 shall kill it and bring the skin to the Castle, and so be quit 
 thereof. 
 
 " And also that they shall openly use the same customs 
 at the Hundred [court] and elsewhere as they were wont to 
 use in the time of any of my predecessors. 
 
 " All these things I have granted to the said burgesses 
 and their heirs for ever, for the soul of John de Moyun, my 
 firstborn son, of happy memory, and for twenty marks which 
 the same burgesses have given to me. 
 
 " Wherefore I will and grant for me and my heirs the 
 lords, guardians and bailiffs of Dunesterre, that this my 
 grant, release, and quit-claim shall remain valid and unshaken 
 for ever. And lest I Reynold, or my heirs or any other 
 lord, guardian, or bailiff of Dunesterre, shall be able to contra- 
 vene this in any respect, for the greater assurance hereof, 
 I have affixed my seal to the present writing. These being 
 witnesses : — Sir Simon de Ralegh, Sir Roges of Porlok, 
 Sir John Bretasch, Sir William le Bret, Philip of Lucumb, 
 Richard Aylerd, Richard of Cloudesham, Hugh of Avele, 
 Richard of Linc[oln], and many others. " ^ 
 
 The foregoing has been described as one of the 
 large group of charters characterised by a limitation 
 of the lord's ' mercy, ' or powder of amercement, the 
 exception here being the case of an assault on an in- 
 habitant of the Castle. ^ 
 
 One of the sections suggests that the rabbits on 
 Conigar Hill had so multiplied as to become a nui- 
 
 » D.C.M. VIII. I. pp. 92-110. 
 
 ' English Historical Review, vol. xvi,
 
 28o A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 sance to the townsmen. By 1266, they had been 
 exterminated and Conigar had become ordinary pasture 
 in demesne. The rabbit-warren of the lords of Dunster 
 in subsequent centuries was on flat ground near the 
 sea, a little to the east of Minehead. The ' custom ' 
 of Dunster with regard to the Hundred Court seems 
 to have consisted in ignoring it altogether. 
 
 The following charter belongs to the period between 
 1269 and 1279 : — 
 
 " To all the faithful of Christ to whom the present writing 
 shall come, John de Moyun, greeting in the Lord. Know 
 ye all that I have granted, confirmed and quit-claimed for 
 ever, for me and my heirs, to all the burgesses of my town 
 of Donestorre and their heirs all the liberties of the same 
 town which Sir Reynold de Moyun, my grandfather, at any 
 time gave and granted by his charter to the said burgesses 
 and their heirs, as that charter witnesses in all points, without 
 any claim to be made thence hereafter. 
 
 " 1 have also granted to the said burgesses and their heirs 
 [the right] to find yearly a suitable and faithful bailiff, to 
 receive, present, and faithfully answer for all attachments 
 made within the borough. And if the same bailiff for the 
 time being shall in any way misbehave against the lord or 
 the said burgesses or their heirs, he the same bailiff shall 
 make amend to his lord, according to the custom of the 
 borough; and in his place the said burgesses shall put another 
 bailiff suitable for the lord's work. 
 
 " For this grant, confirmation and quit-claim the said 
 burgesses have given to me twenty shillings in hand. In 
 witness wherof I have affiixed my seal to the present writing. 
 These being witnesses : — Sir John de Brytasch, knight, 
 Philip of Luccomb, Richard of Cloudesham, John of Holne, 
 Geoffrey of Kytenare, Geoffrey le Tort, William Everard, 
 William Pyrou, Robert de la Putte, and others. " ^ 
 
 With regard to the foregoing it is only necessary 
 to observe that in most manors the bailiff, or bedel, 
 
 ' D.C.M. VIII. I ; Gentleman's Magazine, vol. Ixxviii. p. 874.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 281 
 
 " was an outsider appointed by the lord " to look 
 after his interests. ^ 
 
 The next charter to the burgesses bears a specific 
 date : — 
 
 " To all the faithful of Christ who shall see or hear the 
 present writing, John de Moyun the Third, lord of Duns- 
 terre, greeting in the Lord. Know ye all that I have granted 
 and confirmed for ever for me and my heirs to all the 
 burgesses of my town of Dunsterre and their heirs all the 
 liberties of the same town which Sir Reynold de Moyun, 
 my great-grandfather, gave and granted by his charter to the 
 same burgesses and their heirs. 
 
 " I have also granted to the same burgesses and their 
 heirs the estate {statum) and liberty which they had by a 
 certain writing made to the same burgesses by Sir John de 
 Moyun, my father. 
 
 " I have furthermore granted to the same burgesses and 
 their heirs for ever, on account of the love which 1 bear to 
 the said burgesses, that they shall have furze (^jaones)^ 
 whorts {rnoritas)^ turves {turbas\ fern {fugeras) and heath 
 {hrueras)^ sufficient for their fuel on my hill of Croudon, 
 for ever. 
 
 " Provided that by reason of this grant nobody sojourning 
 within the borough of Dunsterre shall in any wise have or 
 hold the aforesaid liberties or grants except the burgesses 
 and their heirs or those who hold a whole burgage in the 
 same borough. 
 
 " And that this my grant and confirmation may remain 
 approved and valid for ever, I have affixed my seal to the 
 present writing. These being witnesses : — Sir Andrew 
 Loterel, knight, William Osberne then constable of Duns- 
 terre, Gilbert de la Putte, Roger Arundel, Ralph Fitzurse, 
 Robert of Bratton, and Ralph le Tort. Dated at Dunsterre 
 on Thursday before the feast of the Annunciation of Our 
 Lady in the twenty-ninth year of the reign of King Edward." 
 [a.d. 1301.]' 
 
 In I 571, Croydon common was stated to contain 
 
 ' Vinogradoff's Villainage in Eng- ' D.C.M. viii. i. 
 
 land, p. 318.
 
 282 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 about two thousand acres " very commodious " to the 
 town of Dunster " for the necessary fuell, heath and 
 turfe growinge " there. ^ 
 
 The same John de Mohun issued a further charter 
 a few years after that given above : — 
 
 " To all the faithful of Christ who shall see or hear the 
 present writing, John de Mohun, lord of Dunsterre, greet- 
 ing in the Lord. Know ye all that I have granted and 
 confirmed for ever for me and my heirs to all my burgesses 
 of my town of Dunsterre and their heirs and all who hold 
 a whole burgage that they shall freely dig and at their 
 pleasure carry away slime {slymam) for improving their lands, 
 in the whole of my marsh between the road that leads to 
 the sea-port of Dunsterre and the marsh of Richard of 
 Avele ; and that they shall have common of pasture with all 
 their plough-cattle {averiis) at every time of the year, except 
 in my several marsh which is called Estmersh, [so] that they 
 shall neither dig there and carry away, nor have common 
 there with their plough cattle. Provided that by reason of 
 this grant nobody sojourning within the borough of Duns- 
 terre shall in any wise have or hold the aforesaid liberties or 
 grants except the burgesses and their heirs or those who 
 hold a whole burgage in the same borough. 
 
 " And that this my gift, grant and confirmation may 
 remain approved and valid for ever, I have affixed my seal 
 to the present writing. These being witnesses : — Sir 
 Henry of Glastonbury, knight, William Osbern, steward, 
 Geoffrey of Loccombe, Gilbert de la Putte, Roger Arundel, 
 Robert of Bratton, Ralph le Tort, and others. Dated at 
 Dunsterre on Friday next after the feast of St. James the 
 Apostle in the thirty-fifth year of King Edward. " ^ 
 
 There is some error in the date of this charter, for 
 Edward the First died on the 7th of July 1307, and 
 the feast of St. James was on the 25th of the month. 
 The validity of the grant seems to have been question- 
 
 ^ Chancery Proceedings, Series H, ter, formerly preserved in a chest in 
 bundle 117, no. 59. Dunster Church, is now at the Castle. 
 
 » D.C.M. viii. I. The original char-
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 283 
 
 ed by George Luttrell in the reign of Elizabeth, on 
 the ground that the burgesses of Dunster were not a 
 corporation. It may be useful to note here that the 
 East Marsh reserved as above then comprised about 
 forty acres used as a rabbit-warren and commonly 
 known by the name of ' Coleborrowes. ' 
 
 The following charter was issued by the same John 
 de Mohun in 1324 : — 
 
 " To all the faithful of Christ who shall see or hear the 
 present writing, John de Mohun, lord of Dunsterre, greeting 
 in the Lord. Know ye all that I have given and granted 
 for me and my heirs and all others lords, guardians, [or] 
 bailiffs of Dunsterre to all the burgesses of my town of 
 Dunster continuing for ever twenty gallons of ale out of the 
 twenty-four gallons of ale formerly due to me from every 
 brew. I will also and grant for me and my heirs and all 
 lords, guardians and bailiffs whomsoever, that hereafter we 
 shall not be able to make or have prise (capcionem) of the 
 brew of anyone in the same town, except four gallons of ale 
 from a brew as I had them and was wont from the past 
 term, and those of the ale which the bailiff found on sale on 
 the day of search. 
 
 " And I, the aforesaid John de Mohun, and my heirs 
 will warrant, acquit and defend for ever to the aforesaid bur- 
 gesses and their heirs and all who continue in the aforesaid 
 town the aforesaid twenty gallons of ale against all mortals. 
 In testimony whereof I have affixed my seal to this present 
 writing. These being witnesses : — Sir Henry of Glaston- 
 bury, knight, Ralph le Tort, Geoffrey of Loccumbe, William 
 of Kytenore, William of Holne, Robert Everard, Geoffrey 
 of Avele, and others. Dated at Dunsterre on Sunday after 
 the feast of the Purification of Our Lady in the seventeenth 
 year of the reign of King Edward, the son of King Edward." 
 [a.d. 1324.]^ 
 
 There must have been a good deal of brewing at 
 Dunster at this period, for, some six years after the 
 date of the foregoing charter, the lord's prise of ale 
 
 » D.C.M. vin. I.
 
 284 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 in the town was valued at 2/. i 3^. 4^. a year. ^ The 
 subject will be mentioned again in connexion with 
 the courts of the borough. Camden, Gerard and 
 Fuller agree in stating that the last Lady de Mohun 
 of Dunster obtained from her husband as much ground 
 as common for the inhabitants of the town as she 
 could walk round barefoot in one day. The story, 
 which reminds one partly of Dido and partly of Lady 
 Godiva, might be dismissed as fabulous were it not 
 for the fact that these three writers had access to a 
 chronicle of the Mohun family composed in the life- 
 time of this lady and actually dedicated to her. ^ It 
 is, however, necessary to observe that there is no record 
 of any charter to the burgesses of Dunster granted by 
 her husband. 
 
 In 1346, the town of Dunster was called upon to 
 provide three armed men to serve in the wars of 
 Edward the Third. ^ Four years later, only one such 
 man was demanded.* In 1360, for the first and last 
 time, Dunster sent up two members to Parliament, in 
 the persons of Walter Morys and Thomas Carter. ^ 
 The little borough never had a mayor or an alderman. 
 On the other hand it was considered competent to 
 receive land and otherwise to act in a corporate ca- 
 pacity. ® Such property as vested in it was apparently 
 held under an implied trust for the churchwardens, 
 or for one of the chantries. ^ In 1355, and again in 
 1498, there are specific mentions of the common seal 
 of the commonalty of the town of Dunster, every 
 vestige of which has long since disappeared. ^ 
 
 * Inq. post mortem, C. Edw. HI. vol. i. p. 164. 
 
 file 22 (11). ^ Inq. ad quod damnum, file 344,00. 
 
 * Devon Notes and Queries, vol. iv. 6 ; D.C.B. nos. 12, 19, 43, 46. 
 
 p. 252. ' D.C.B. no. 48. Bishop King's Re- 
 
 ^ Rymer's Foedera, vol. iii. p. 71. gister at Wells, f. 45. 
 
 * Ibid. p. 194. 8 D.C.B. no. 41. 
 
 * Return 0/ Members of Parliament,
 
 *> 
 
 c 
 
 
 vs 
 
 '-] 
 
 <; 
 
 
 D^ 
 
 
 
 X 
 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 HD 
 
 H 
 
 O s
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 285 
 
 From some of the charters given above, it appears 
 that nobody was accounted a burgess of Dunster who 
 did not hold a whole burgage. The ground on either 
 side of the different streets had, at an early period, 
 been cut up into narrow strips, each affording space 
 for a house with a yard or a garden behind. The 
 tenements on the eastern side of the High Street were 
 separated from the Hanger Park by a continuous 
 paling or wall ; those opposite were similarly separated 
 from the Priory Green. In some parts of the town, 
 the arrangement was not quite so symmetrical. Each 
 strip of normal size was known as a burgage and was 
 held of the lord by the free tenure of that name. As 
 in several other ancient boroughs, the rent was usually 
 a shilling a year for each burgage, a substantial amount 
 not far below the actual value of the premises when 
 first acquired. 
 
 Subject to this and some other obligations to be 
 mentioned hereafter, the burgess could deal with his 
 holding as he chose, and he could even bequeath it 
 by will, at a time when testamentary powers over land 
 were very restricted. The lord therefore never got 
 an escheat unless a bastard tenant died intestate. All 
 the burgesses were, as such, essentially free men, 
 though of course they might also be tenants of agri- 
 cultural land in the manor liable to the ordinary con- 
 ditions of villein service. 
 
 While all the burgages were, as the name implies, 
 situate within the borough, they were not necessarily 
 single houses inhabited by burgesses. A barn, or even 
 a void plot of ground, might be accounted a burgage. 
 There is occasional mention of half-burgages. On 
 the other hand there might be two dwellings on one 
 burgage. By the seventeenth century, however, the 
 medieval meaning of a ' burgage ' as a piece of ground
 
 286 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 held by burgage tenure, had been largely forgotten, 
 and the term had come to be regarded more or less as 
 an equivalent to * messuage ' or * tenement, ' and to 
 be applied to houses not held " according to the custom 
 of the borough. 
 
 We may fairly suppose that, as originally allotted, 
 each burgage had a separate owner, who was also the 
 occupier. The unrestricted power of alienation, how- 
 ever, tended to reduce the number of burgesses, or, in 
 other words, to concentrate the burgages in a limited 
 number of hands. A prosperous tradesman might 
 acquire a burgage next to his own, in order to enlarge 
 his premises. So again, anyone wanting an invest- 
 ment for surplus money might buy a burgage, in order 
 to let it, at a time when the yearly value had come 
 to be much greater than the fixed rent payable to the 
 lord. At Dunster, this rent seems to have been always 
 due from the owner, the lord ignoring the mere oc- 
 cupier. If it was not paid, the lord apparently had 
 no easy remedy except distress upon any goods to be 
 found on the premises. ^ 
 
 In the course of the later middle ages, several burg- 
 ages in Dunster were acquired by the Abbot and 
 Convent of Cleeve, the Prior of Dunster, and the 
 local gilds of St. Lawrence and the Holy Trinity. 
 All these fell into the hands of the Crown at the dis- 
 solution of the monasteries and the subsequent sup- 
 pression of chantries, but subject to the rents payable 
 to Sir Andrew or Sir John Luttrell. 
 
 An 'extent' of the year 1266 shows that the total 
 number of burgages in Dunster was then 176J. 
 Twelve of the burgages in different parts of the town 
 belonged to the Benedictine Prior. Robert of Gal- 
 lockswell had seven, all apparently situate near the 
 
 ' D.C.M. I. 27; IX. 2.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 287 
 
 place of that name beyond the river. The surnames 
 of many of the other burgesses indicate their respective 
 vocations : — ' Mazun, ' Smith, Carpenter, ' Poter, ' 
 Baker, ' Cok, ' Webber, Fuller, ' Corour, ' ' Tannere, ' 
 ' Glovere, ' ' Chepman, ' Miller, ' Gardiner, ' Fisher, 
 Hunter (venatorj^ Wake (vigil)^ Clerk and Chaplain. 
 Others took their names from the places at which 
 they dwelt, the Marsh, the Bridge, the Bar, the Corner, 
 the Well, and the Churchyard. Roger Wyschard 
 may be mentioned as a representative of the Norman 
 element in the population, and John Portman of the 
 English. Among the more curious names in the list 
 are those of William le Nywecomesone, Maud le 
 Dublesterre, Nicholas Bukkehorn, Alice Stoukedostre, 
 and Joan Cockeslop. A few of the burgesses had 
 only one name recorded, such as Stou, Wyncestre, 
 Cheffynge, Hunygod, Couleman and Scherpe, but it 
 is not necessary to suppose that they had received 
 them at their baptism. ^ 
 
 The court-roll of 1381 records the admission of 
 some new burgesses, at the usual rent of a shilling, 
 but they obtained only estates for life. ^ If a burgage 
 came into the lord's hands by escheat, by purchase, 
 or by surrender, he could deal with it more or less as 
 he pleased, imposing upon a new tenant conditions to 
 which the representatives of the original burgesses 
 were not subject. Thus the following entry occurs in 
 the court-roll of the borough for the year 141 3 : — 
 
 " To this court comes Thomas Touker the younger and 
 he gives to the lord ild. as a fine for having estate and entry 
 in a burgage lying on the south side of Grobbefast-pathe, 
 which William Jone lately held, to hold according to the 
 custom of the manor, rendering therefor and doing the same 
 rents and services as the aforesaid William was wont to 
 
 » D.C.M. vui. 4. * D.C.M. IX. 5.
 
 288 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 render and do. And he will build a new house of one 
 couple (copuV) and two Mnschydes' upon the said burgage 
 within two years, according to agreement. And he was 
 admitted tenant and did fealty. " ^ 
 
 In all such cases, the payment made for entry is 
 described as a ' fine. ' New tenants were from time 
 to time admitted in open court in the fifteenth century, 
 to hold " according to the custom of the borough. " 
 They may perhaps be regarded as copyholders, and 
 there is specific mention of a conveyance by Sir 
 Andrew Luttrell, in 1 5 37, of " a tenement or burgage 
 in Dunster " to be held for lives " by copy of the 
 roll. " ^ On the other hand the successors of the 
 original burgesses did not hold ' by copy of court 
 roll. ' Their tenure is often described in the rolls as 
 ' socage, ' of which indeed it was only a variety. 
 A widow at Dunster could claim the ' capital mes- 
 suage ', or principal house, of her deceased husband, 
 to hold ' in free bench ' until her remarriage or death. ^ 
 
 There is unfortunately no written custumal defining 
 the exact relation of the free burgesses of Dunster to 
 their lord. It is, however, abundantly clear that he 
 was entitled to a small pecuniary sum upon every 
 transfer of a burgage, at any rate in all cases when 
 the new owner was not already a burgess. In 1381, 
 this payment is described as ' toll ' (toln)^ but in the 
 following century it is usually styled ' boroughright ', 
 spelt in various ways. ^ The writers of the court-rolls 
 seem to have been rather confused as to the meaning 
 of the term, and, in 1532, we find it applied to the 
 tenure, instead of the custom or the payment. ^ 
 
 A great number of instances might be cited to show 
 that the lord received 4^. from every burgage con- 
 
 • D.C.M. XI. 2. See Bracton. 
 
 2 D.C.M. XIV. 9. * D.C.M. IX. 5; X. 2. 3; xi. 2; xii. 1-4. 
 
 * Placita de Banco, 348. m. 320. * D.C.M. xiii. 3.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 289 
 
 veyed by one living person to another. The following 
 will, however, suffice : — 
 
 1426, April 22. " Burghryght, 14^. Fealty. To this 
 [court] comes John Orchard the younger arid gives to the 
 lord of * burghryght ' for three burgages and a half which he 
 acquired of John Frank, clerk, to him and Alice his wife and 
 heirs lawfully begotten between them ; and he did fealty to 
 the lord for the same. " ^ 
 
 The charge on an estate for life was the same as 
 that on an estate in perpetuity. In cases of transfer 
 to several persons jointly, such as feoffees, the lord 
 sometimes exacted /\.d. from each of the new tenants, 
 but the practice in this respect seems to have been 
 variable. The lord also got 4^. from every burgage 
 on the death of the owner. 
 
 1432, December 22. " To this [court] come John Blounde- 
 helfe and Joan his wife, daughter and heiress of John 
 Duke of Dunsterre, deceased, and claim to hold of the lord 
 three burgages within the borough there, to hold to the 
 same John and Joan, their heirs and assigns for ever, whence 
 there accrues to the lord of a certain custom of the said 
 borough for the aforesaid three burgages a certain render 
 called ' burghryght, ' that is to say ^d. from every burgage, 
 lid. And so the same John and Joan were admitted 
 tenants, and did fealty. " * 
 
 1462, October 24. " On this day came George Stukeley, 
 son and heir of Richard Stukeley, and did fealty to the 
 lord for a burgage in Dunster late of the said Richard and 
 paid * burghryght, ' that is to say ^d. " ' 
 
 Nevertheless, the steward was sometimes content 
 to accept 4f.d. from persons inheriting " divers burg- 
 ages " when the number was not exactly specified. 
 
 In 1503, and several subsequent years, the payment 
 made by every new burgess on admission is described 
 in the rolls as ' relief, ' a term borrowed from the 
 
 > D.C.M. XII. I. ' D.C.M. XII. 4. 
 
 » D.C.M. XII. 2.
 
 290 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 feudal vocabulary. ^ So long as the ancient custom 
 of the borough was maintained, one name was as 
 good as another. In the reign of Henry the Eighth, 
 however, a new system of assessment was established, 
 the amount of ' relief ' being fixed at two years ' rent. 
 At a court held on the 6th of October 1522, it was 
 found that no less than five of the free burgesses had 
 recently died — John Wylkyns who paid 2s. yearly. 
 Sir John Trevelyan who paid y. 6d., Thomas Stoway 
 who paid ij-., John Lewes who paid is. 6^. and John 
 Ellisworth who paid 31. 4^. In each of these cases 
 the relief due to the lord was set down at double the 
 amount of the rent. ^ How the change was intro- 
 duced the rolls do not show. The lord must assur- 
 edly have surrendered some ancient right or due when 
 the fee on admission to a freehold burgage of normal 
 value was thus suddenly raised from 4^. to 2s. 
 
 A fresh oath of fealty seems to have been required 
 from every burgess of Dunster on the accession of a 
 new lord. 
 
 For some time after the reign of Henry the Eighth, 
 the rolls of the borough court are so irregular that it 
 is impossible to say when the oath of fealty and the 
 payment of 'boroughright', or ' relief, on succession 
 ceased to be exacted. The following entry occurs 
 among the proceedings of a court leet and court baron 
 held on the i8th of October 1735 : — 
 
 " We present a releifFe due to the lord of this burrough 
 upon the death of Mr. Giles Poyntz leatly deceased, who 
 died seized of land or burgeges within this burrough, upon 
 whose death, by the information of Mr. Thomas Prowse, 
 steward of this court, there was due two pounds, four shil- 
 lings, and fourpence due to the lord of the said burrough 
 for such said releiife, which [is] not yet paid. " 
 
 1 D.C.M. XIII. I. 2 D.C.M. XIII. 3.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 291 
 
 The amount thus claimed was exactly double the 
 yearly rent due from Poyntz for various burgages. 
 
 The amount of rent paid yearly at Martinmas by 
 the burgesses of Dunster seems to have fluctuated 
 slightly in the middle ages. The total was 9/. 3^. ^d. 
 in 1259 and 1267. At the beginning of the reign 
 of Edward the Fourth, it should have been 8/. 7J. 5^. 
 but, perhaps in consequence of political troubles, many 
 of the burgages were unoccupied and i/. 6j-. \od. 
 could not be collected. ^ It was 8/. 9^. \d. in the 
 reign of Henry the Eighth, but it afterwards declined 
 steadily, possibly through a decrease in the urban 
 population, possibly through purchases made by suc- 
 cessive owners of the Castle. ^ In 1648, there is a 
 list of " Heigh rents payable yearlie at Saint Martin's 
 daie, " amounting to only 5/. 1 2s. 5^. Out of this 
 the Crown was liable for i/. 6j-. in respect of burgages 
 that had belonged to Cleeve Abbey and to chantries 
 suppressed in the reign of Edward the Sixth, and 
 Giles Poyntz of Lower Marsh was liable for i /. 2s. 2d. ' 
 By 1746, the burgage rents had fallen further to 
 4/. 3 J. 10^., of which i/. 2i. 2d. was due from John 
 Poyntz, and i6j'. 8^/. from the heirs of Sir Hugh 
 Stewkley. The date of payment had also been altered 
 from Martinmas to Michaelmas. * 
 
 In course of time, the burgage rents came to be 
 regarded merely as payments for the right of depas- 
 turing nine ewes and a ram in the Salt Marsh. '" A 
 few persons more closely connected with the manor 
 of Carhampton were occasionally admitted to similar 
 rights on payment of a shilling a year. "^ 
 
 Between the years 1760 and 1772, Henry Fownes 
 
 ' D.C.M. I. 27. * Survey by John St. Albyn. D.C.M. 
 
 * Bailiffs' accounts and Inq. post ^ S^vai^e's Hundred of dirhampton, 
 
 mortem, passim. p. 37^- 
 
 » D.C.M. III. 12. " D.C.M. III. 12.
 
 292 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 Luttrell bought up the rights pertaining to fifty-four 
 burgages out of a total of eighty-five ; and his son's 
 purchase of the whole Stewkley estate in Dunster, 
 about 1790, made a further considerable reduction in 
 the number. As late as 18 19, there were a few out- 
 standing rights of pasture in the Salt Marsh, but it 
 had been altogether forgotten that the payments of a 
 shilling a year represented an ancient rent for property 
 in the town to which the lord had a reversionary 
 right in certain contingencies. The Salt Marsh was 
 finally divided by the Inclosure Commissioners in 1 865. 
 
 It has been seen above that, in the later part of the 
 thirteenth century. Sir John de Mohun had made 
 over to the burgesses of Dunster the right of electing 
 the bailiff of the borough. In course of time, how- 
 ever, they ceased to act together as a corporation, 
 and the right reverted to the lord. 
 
 In 1 62 1, Robert Poore paid 12/. for the bailiwick 
 of the borough, including the benefit of the outstand- 
 ings, the weighing of yarn and wool and all other 
 merchandise brought to the Town-hall to be weighed, 
 the benefit of the two fairs on " Whitesun Mundaie 
 and Good Frydaie, " and " a certaine rent paid yerly 
 by the tanners betweene Martyns daie and Christmas 
 Eve called Larder-silver. " 
 
 In 1 629, George Luttrell demised to Andrew Worth 
 of Dunster, yeoman, his executors and assigns,, for 
 twenty-one years, " all that the office and baily wicke of 
 the borough of Dunster ... and also the outstandinges, 
 coveridge-money, and pitchinge-pence on the fayre 
 daies and markett daies.... together with the benefitt 
 and profitt of tollage and also of weighinge of yarne 
 in the New Hall and elsewhere within the borough 
 aforesaid, and likewise the rents, yssues, and profitts of
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 293 
 
 the butchers' standinges on Whitson Monday yerely, " 
 and all other advantages belonging to the bailiwick, 
 reserving to himself and his heirs " all instandinges 
 and shoppes " and the rents usually paid to him. He 
 also undertook to provide " fit, necessary, and sufficient 
 boordes, tressells, forckes and poles for the standinges 
 aforesaid, as often as neede shall require. " The yearly 
 rent of 10/. to be paid by the lessee is explicitly stated 
 to be the ancient rent for the bailiwick. ^ 
 
 In the record of proceedings at the court leet in 
 October 1739, we find : — 
 
 " Samuel Matthews was at this court elected by the lady 
 of the manor bailiff of the borough of Dunster during 
 pleasure, and he was then sworn to the due execution of his 
 office. 
 
 Later on we find the following : — 
 
 " Conditions of a survey held on Thursday the 29th Sept- 
 ember 1763, at the Ship Inn in Dunster in the county of 
 Somerset for setting (sic) the Cornhouse, Markethouse, 
 Tubhouse and butchers' shambles in Dunster aforesaid, 
 together with the reasonable use of all the tubs, pecks and 
 other measures, boards, trussels, poles, beams, scales and 
 weights that now are in or belong to the Markethouse and 
 market aforesaid, and all tolls and other advantages, emolu- 
 ments, profits and priviledges of the market and fair to be 
 holden and kept in Dunster aforesaid and which to the clerk 
 of the market of Dunster aforesaid do or may belong and of 
 right appertain, except all the inclosed shops and other rooms 
 taken out of the Markethouse, for the term of seven years." 
 
 This * survey ' was a sort of auction, at which dif- 
 ferent persons stated the yearly rent which they were 
 respectively wiUing to pay, and the bids rose from 
 47/. to 60/. at which figure the lease was granted to 
 George Gale. 
 
 ' D.C.M.xv. 22. Of. however D.C.M. xiv. 33, 41.
 
 294 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 In documents of the thirteenth and fourteenth 
 centuries, the profits of the market of Dunster are 
 often associated with those of the sea-port. When 
 royal writs and proclamations were addressed to the 
 different ports of the realm, there were only two 
 places in Somerset to which they were sent. Bridge- 
 water and Dunster. ^ In 1375, the St. Marie Cog of 
 Dunster, a vessel of 57 tons, valued with its cargo at 
 275/. was taken or destroyed near the mouth of the 
 Loire. ^ Soon after this, Minehead came into notice 
 as a port, and it gradually supplanted Dunster. It 
 was from Minehead that the Leonard of Dunster 
 sailed to Bordeaux in 1417.^ In 1 565, Watchet, 
 Dunster Haven, and Porlock Bay are described as 
 places in the precinct of Bridgewater at which "smalle 
 botes " were wont to land " salte, wyne, vyctualles, 
 wood and coole. " * There had recently been trouble 
 about the second of these places. According to an 
 information filed by the Attorney General, the Port- 
 reeve and burgesses of Minehead, relying upon their 
 new charter, would not allow any " ship, boat, or 
 vessel " to put into Dunster Haven. To enforce 
 their prohibition, they used, he averred, to carry off 
 the sail of any offending craft, and to imprison the 
 master and crew. They also claimed control over 
 the sale of merchandise and victuals at the Haven. ^ 
 
 Eventually nature put an end to the maritime 
 commerce of Dunster. At best its port was no more 
 than a creek at the mouth of the little river, and in 
 process of time it got silted up with alluvial matter. 
 The course of the river has been changed so much in 
 
 ' Rymer's Foedera, vol. ii. p. 701 ; ^ See above, page 88. 
 
 vol. iii. pp. 125, 460, 495, 500, 728 ; '' Exchequer, K.R. Special Commis- 
 
 Calendar oj Close Rolls, /296-1502, p. sions, 1928. 
 
 loi ; 1337-1339, p. 379 ; Calendar of ^ Memoranda Roll, K.R. Easter, 
 
 Patent Rolls, 1390-1401, p. 487. 3 Eliz. m. 109. 
 
 ' Chancery Miscellanea, bundle 28.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 295 
 
 recent years that the very site of the medieval Haven 
 of Dunster can hardly be recognised, but a long pool 
 of fresh w^ater near Sea Lane is still knov^n as ' the 
 Hawn. ' 
 
 Along a considerable part of the coast of Somerset 
 the lords of Dunster have for centuries claimed the 
 right known as ' v^reck of sea. ' There is mention 
 of ' the wreck of Dunestor ' as early as the year 1 1 82. * 
 When a ship going from Ireland to Wales was 
 wrecked at Dunster in 131 1, the people of the 
 country, presumably tenants of Sir John de Mohun, 
 carried away the cargo. ^ So again, in the reign of 
 Richard the Second, the local agents of Lady de 
 Mohun seized the sulphur, woad, ginger, raisins, 
 writing-paper, flax, sugar, prunes, rice, cinnamon, 
 pepper, and other merchandise of Ludovico Gentili 
 and Cosimo Doria of Genoa, found in a ship driven on 
 to the same shore. ^ Numerous instances have been 
 adduced, from the court-rolls and other sources, of the 
 exercise of the right to wreck in subsequent centuries, 
 the Luttrells claiming it from the Foreland in the 
 parish of Countesbury to Shurton Bars in the parish 
 of Stoke Courcy, a stretch of some thirty-two miles. 
 In 1857, the Board of Trade explicitly admitted the 
 title of the late John Fownes Luttrell to unclaimed 
 wreck washed ashore between the eastern boundary 
 of the parish of Lillstock and the stream dividing the 
 counties of Devon and Somerset, thus somewhat cur- 
 tailing the line. * 
 
 In the absence of any royal charter conferring 
 
 I Pipe Roll. Dunster, the manors of Minehead and 
 
 ^Calendar o, Patent Rolls, 1307- Carhampton, the hundred of Carliamp- 
 
 '3'5> P- 311- ^°"' '*"'^' "^^ manor of Kilton, " as if 
 
 * Rymer's Fccdera, vol. iv. p. 75. each of these properties conferred 
 
 * Hancock's Minehead, pp. 35, 36. separate rights in this respect, and 
 The official letter pleonastically ment- uses the word ' comprising ' in a mis- 
 ions " the honour and borough of leading sense.
 
 296 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 privileges upon the early lords of Dunster, we might 
 suppose that they were entitled to wreck of sea along 
 the whole coast of the Hundred of Carhampton and 
 along the coast of all manors comprised in the Hon- 
 our, or Barony, of Dunster. Shurton, excluded by 
 the Board of Trade, would consequently have been in 
 their jurisdiction. On the other hand it is obviously 
 unlikely that they had any established rights on the 
 coast of such manors as Stoke Courcy, Kilve, or East 
 Quantockshead, which were neither in their Hundred 
 nor in their Barony. A royal charter of 1267 gave 
 to the Abbot and Convent of Cleeve wreck of sea 
 along their own piece of the coast, and it is known 
 that the Walerands and the Fitzpayns claimed a simi- 
 lar right in their manor of Stoke Courcy. ^ The 
 cartulary of the Mohun family, compiled by John 
 Osberne in 1350, states explicitly that among the 
 privileges pertaining to Dunster was that of wreck 
 along the whole coast of the Hundred of Carhampton, 
 from the water of Oare to that of Sheotemouth near 
 the Chapel of St. Mary of Cleeve. 
 
 There is abundant evidence that successive lords of 
 the manorsofMinehead,Dunster,andCarhampton have 
 been entitled to the foreshore adjoining. Their court- 
 rolls and accounts abound in references to ' staches ' and 
 ' weres ' by the sea as sources of revenue. It is believed 
 that upright stakes fixed on a rough wall near low water 
 mark were formerly connected with ' freething, ' or 
 wattles, so as to catch fish stranded by the reflux of the 
 tide. According to modern practice, moveable nets 
 are affixed to the stakes for the same purpose. 
 
 Leland, writing in the reign of Henry the Eighth, 
 notes that " the Moions hz.d Jura regalia at Dunster." ^ 
 
 • Calendar of Charter Rolls, vol. ii. p. 254. 
 p. 69 ; Assize Roll, no. 759, mm. 5, gd.; ^ Itinerary (ed. 1907), p. 166. 
 
 Calendar of Patent Rolls, 1302-1313,
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 297 
 
 One of these rights was that of treasure trove through- 
 out the Hundred of Carhampton. Another was that 
 of hanging thieves caught with the stolen goods upon 
 them. Although this ceased to be exercised at an early 
 period, the names of Gallockstreet, Gallocksbridge, 
 Gallockswell, Gallockscross and Gallocksdown have 
 survived. John Osberne, writing in 1350, mentions 
 gallows called ' Scamerdon ', common to Dunster and 
 Carhampton.^ There were also gallows at Minehead, 
 not far from Lower Hopcot.^ Another highly valued 
 right of the Mohuns was the ' extract,' or * return,' of 
 writs, the sheriff of the county being precluded from 
 executing any royal instructions within their privileged 
 area save through the agency of their bailiff. ^ 
 
 Leland states briefly that " the toun of Dunestorre 
 makith cloth. " ^ Local notices of this industry ex- 
 tend over more than five centuries of English history. 
 In an elaborate ' extent ' of the manor of Dunster 
 made in 1266, we may observe the names of Adam 
 the dyer, Walter the webber ftextorj, William the 
 fuller, Alice the webber (textrixj and Christina the 
 webber.^ In 1259, as again in 1279, 1330 and i 376, 
 a fulling-mill yielded a rent of 1 3^. 4^. to the lord 
 of the manor. ^ This was presumably the building 
 described in 141 1 and 1437 as " le tokyng mill. " ^ 
 
 The business seems to have increased, for in 1376, 
 the reeve of Dunster accounted for I2d. " of the new 
 rent of WiUiam Taillour at Hocktide and Michaelmas 
 for a fulling-mill which the said William has erected 
 over the lord's watercourse. " " In 141 8, this mill is 
 
 > Mohun Cartulary. * D.C.M. vili. 4. 
 
 * D.C.M. viii. 6 ; XXXI. 5. ' D.C.M. xvii. 2 ; Inq. post mortem, 
 » RotnliHiitulredonim, vol. ii. p. 125; C. Edw. I. file 22 (i): Edw. HI. file 22 
 
 Pollock &■ Maitland's History of English (11) ; D.C.M. ix. 2. 
 Law, vol. i. pp. 583, 644. ' D.C.M. X. I ; XI. 3. 
 
 * Itinerary, p. 166. » D.C.M. ix. 2. 
 
 m
 
 298 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 described as situate near ' le Colverhay. ' Thomas 
 Touker was then paying the old rent of i 31. 4^. for 
 a fulling mill ' under Grobhurst ; ' a third mill ' near 
 Barlebienshey (sic) ' yielded 2s. ; and the Abbot of 
 Cleeve had a fourth in or near West Street. ^ A few 
 years later, only three such mills are mentioned, that 
 situate under Parlbienshay, that rented by Thomas 
 Touker at Frilford or Frekeford, and that which 
 Thomas Touker the younger rented from the Abbot 
 of Cleeve. ^ In the reigns of Henry the Fourth and 
 Fifth, one of the public highways in Dunster was 
 known as ' Toukerstrete. ' As it certainly adjoined 
 some running water, it may have been the continuation 
 of West Street towards Frackford. ^ In the later 
 part of the reign of Henry the Sixth, Robert Touker 
 paid yearly rent for a fulling-mill newly built on the 
 eastern side of the Castle, but presumably far below it.^ 
 In 1467, an order was made by the borough 
 court : — 
 
 " That nobody shall henceforth make linen cloth of 
 * flockys, * and if it be proved by anyone that then the cloth 
 so made shall be forfeited to the lord. " ^ 
 
 In 1492, three persons were amerced for polluting 
 the river between Dunster and Dunster Hanger with 
 " le wodewater, " and an order was made : — 
 
 " That no dyer shall henceforth put or throw * le wode- 
 water ' in the lord's stream (rivulo) before eight o'clock at 
 night, under pain of /\.od. every time. 
 
 In 1494, there were two presentments at the 
 court : — 
 
 " William Morgan has unlawfully made his cloth mixed 
 
 1 D.C.M. XI. I. Parlebienshay was '^ D.C.M. x. 3 ; xi. 2. 
 
 so called after a man who bore the '' D.C.M. xviii. 4. 
 
 French nickname of ' Parlebien. ' * D.C.M. xii. 4. 
 
 » D.C.M. xviii. 3, 4.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 299 
 
 with * flokkes, ' to the detriment of his neighbours, and 
 contrary to the statute issued on this behalf. Therefore he 
 is amerced ^od. " 
 
 " John Lechelond unlawfully makes his cloth with 'cardes * 
 {i.e. thistles), contrary to the statute. Therefore he is 
 amerced 3<^. 
 
 It is interesting to note traces of a Sabbatarian 
 spirit at this period. At a court held in April 1491, 
 it was ordained : — 
 
 " That no fuller shall henceforth allow his mills to make 
 cloth from the time of evensong on Saturday until after 
 vespers on Sunday, under pain of 6j. 8<^., whereof 40*^. to 
 the lord and /\.od. to the church. " 
 
 Two fullers were amerced in that year for breach 
 of this ordinance. ^ 
 
 Special arrangements were necessary for drying the 
 cloth after the process of ' fulling, ' or ' tucking. ' In 
 1459, a member of the trade was empowered to make 
 a ' tentorium^ ' called " in English ' le reck ' " on the 
 ' Castel Torre ' at Dunster on a strip of ground meas- 
 uring 63 feet by 18.^ In i486, there were several 
 ' tenters, ' or racks * on Grobfaste, ' and the bailiff of 
 the borough accounted to Sir Hugh Luttrell for 6^. 
 received from John Cok for one tenter and for 2s. bd. 
 for divers tenters. In the following year, he debited 
 himself with 71. ' new rent ' for tenters set up ' on 
 the Castle Tor' and 'on Grobfast. ' ^ In 1529, 
 Thomas Everard the younger paid rent to the lord of 
 Dunster for " a clotherack caulyd the myddell racke 
 upon Grobfast, with a fullyng myll caulyd Frekeford," 
 which has been already mentioned. " 
 
 By a will dated in 1 57 1 , Richard Worth of Dunster 
 bequeathed 6/. i 3^. \d. to the use of young beginners 
 
 ' D.C.M. xiii. I. ^ D.C.M. XIII. 2. 
 
 » D.C.M. XII. J. * D.C.M. XIX. 8.
 
 300 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 exercising the art of cloth-making in the borough. ^ 
 Later in the reign of Elizabeth, the tucking-mill with 
 two stocks that had formerly belonged to the Abbot of 
 Cleeve was pulled down by the grantee, Colle, in 
 order to make room for two new grist-mills. George 
 Luttrell, as owner of the ancient manorial grist-mills, 
 retaliated by diverting a part of the water-course, 
 whereupon Colle brought a suit against for him break- 
 ing the head-weir at Hurlepool. ^ 
 
 In 1589, George Howe of Dunster, clothier, built 
 " one tuckinge or fullinge mill " of two " stooks " 
 adjoining the eastern end of the " water griste mille," 
 situate " under the Castell Torre, on the south parte 
 thereof. " In consideration of his expenses, he ob- 
 tained from George Luttrell a lease for twenty-one 
 years of the said new mill, a close called Culvercliffe 
 containing two acres, with a rack standing therein 
 ' under Grobhurst,' two " rackromes " standing on 
 the south-western part of the Castle Tor, and a little 
 plot called the ' Hopkegarden ' on the western side of 
 the common ryne adjoining the grist-mill, the whole 
 at the nominal rent of 26s. S^. ^ 
 
 There is a parliamentary enactment of 1601 that 
 
 " Dunster cotton hereafter shalbe by this present acte 
 intended and taken to be of like length and breadth as 
 Taunton and Bridgewater cloth. "* 
 
 Six years later, there is a further enactment : — 
 
 " That every broad cloth commonly called Tauntons, 
 Bridgewaters and Dunsters, made in the western part of 
 Somersetshire, or elsewhere of like making, shall contain, 
 being thoroughly wet, between twelve and thirteen yards, and 
 in breadth seven quarters of a yard at the least, and being 
 well scoured, thicked, milled and fully dried, shall weigh 
 thirty pounds the cloth at least. "^ 
 
 ' Brown's Somersetshire Wills, vol. ^ D.C.M. xiv. 29. 
 
 ii. p. 81. •* St. 43 Eliz. c. 10. 
 
 2 D.C.M. XV. 4. 5 St. 4. Jac. I. c. 2.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 301 
 
 It was for the sale of cloth that George Luttrell 
 built the octagonal Market-House which is so pictur- 
 esque a feature in the main street of Dunster. 
 
 In 1655, there is mention of a piece of waste land 
 beaten out of the rock at the lower end of West Street, 
 adjoining the mill-stream, under a close called ' Racke 
 Cloase ' wherein stood divers fullers' racks. Two 
 years later, Francis Luttrell received 35J. for the rent 
 of seven ' rack rooms ' then in use, of which five were 
 on the Castle Tor. By 1670, the total number of 
 rack-rooms had risen to nine, but the rent therefrom 
 had fallen to 30J-. 
 
 In 171 3, William Leigh of Dunster, clothier, took 
 a lease of a messuage called ' Frackford, ' comprising 
 a dwelling-house and two fulling-mills, with a coppice 
 called ' Rack Close ' situate ' under Goose Wheekes 
 Path, ' with the right of setting up racks on the side 
 of Grabbist Hill. From 1682 to 1760, the smaller 
 fulling-mill next to the old grist-mills seems to have 
 been in the hands of successive members of the Hos- 
 som family, who latterly paid only 6s. 8^. rent and a 
 heriot, or fine, of i 31. 4^. on succession. It is described 
 as " of no value " in 1746 " by reason of the badness 
 of trade. " A tenant was, however, found for it six 
 years later, and in 1777 it was supposed to yield 8/. 
 a year to the owner of the Castle. The fullers' rack 
 rents which brought in 3/. 8j. in 171 9 had by 1746 
 sunk to i/,, there being only five let at 4J. apiece. 
 After 1764, they disappear from the rental. Never- 
 theless, Henry Fownes Luttrell thought it worth 
 while, in 1765, to convert a grist-mill, which he had 
 bought from one Ingram, into a fulling-mill. This, 
 with a piece of meadow, yielded at first 15/. a year, 
 but only 8/. in 1779. Ingram may have been the 
 eventual successor of Colle mentioned above.
 
 302 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 Savage, writing in 1830 with regard to the industry 
 of Dunster in the eighteenth century says : — 
 
 " At that time the female inmates of farm houses, in this 
 and the neighbouring district, from the mistress to the ap- 
 prentice maid, and the wives and daughters of the labourers, 
 were employed, when not occupied about their household 
 affairs or farms, in spinning their master's wool into yarn by 
 hand, which was regularly carried to this market and sold to 
 the clothiers here, and others who came from Old Cleeve, 
 Williton, Putsham, Wiveliscombe, and other places. " ^ 
 
 The periodical courts of the borough of Dunster 
 are mentioned by the name of the ' portmote ' in 
 1279, when its pleas and perquisites were valued at 
 20s J In 1330, they were valued at 5// The rolls 
 of the fifteenth century show very much larger profits 
 to the lord. 
 
 The two principal courts of the year, ' law-days, ' 
 or courts leet ' with view of frank-pledge, ' were that 
 of Hocktide, about a fortnight after Easter, and that 
 of Michaelmas term, usually held on the Monday after 
 the feast of St. Luke (October 18). The court next 
 after either of these was sometimes styled in Latin 
 ' cun'a comp/eta, ' or in English ' the fulfilling day. ' 
 Other courts were held throughout the year at intervals 
 of not less than three weeks. The lord's steward was 
 of course the president at all the courts alike. The 
 bailiff was also invariably present. A jury of twelve 
 freemen attended at the two principal courts and 
 sometimes at the two courts that followed them. At 
 the meeting in October, election was made of the 
 officers of the borough, two constables of the peace, 
 two bread-weighers and two ale-tasters, in the four- 
 teenth century. To these were added, in the reign 
 
 1 History of the Hundred of Carhamp- 22 (i). 
 ton, p. 383. 3 iiji^i c. Edw. ni. file 22 (ii). 
 
 - Inq. post mortem, C. Edw. I., file
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 303 
 
 of Henry the Fourth, two surveyors of victuals or 
 keepers of the shambles, and, in the reign of Henry 
 the Eighth, tv^^o keepers of the streets. 
 
 It was the duty of the constables to ' present, ' or 
 report, all breaches of the peace, with a view to the 
 amercement of the offenders, and to confiscate any 
 weapon used. Their action was independent of such 
 proceedings as the aggrieved parties might take in 
 the court against their assailants. Persons of all ranks 
 appear in the lists of presentments : — 
 
 1410, October 23. "Richard the chaplain of Lullokes- 
 burg drew blood of Laurence Scolemayster with his fist, 
 contrary to the peace. " 
 
 141 1, March 16. "John Spere chaplain drew a knife 
 against John Loty, contrary to the peace. Therefore he is 
 in mercy, 6d. And John Loty drew a dagger — forfeited to 
 the lord — against John Spere chaplain. Therefore he is in 
 mercy, 6d. " ^ 
 
 It was the duty of the bread-weighers to present 
 any bakers who sold loaves of insufficient size or bad 
 quality. The ale-tasters used to * present ' brewers and 
 ale-wives who tapped their barrels before the contents 
 had been examined, those who refused to supply 
 samples, those who made use of unauthorised measures 
 and those who sold beer in houses undistinguished by 
 a signboard. 
 
 1409, October. " Elizabeth Jone who had ale for sale in 
 a tavern refused it to Thomas Paccehole and afterwards sold 
 six gallons — which are forfeited — from the same tavern. 
 Therefore she is in mercy, 12^."^ 
 
 Beer was indeed a source of considerable profit to 
 the lords of Dunster in the fifteenth century. At 
 court after court, fines were imposed upon persons 
 
 1 D.C.M. X. 3. * t»C.M. X. 3.
 
 304 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 ' presented ' for having ' brewed and broken the 
 assise. ' On one occasion, no less than eighty-six 
 persons were for this reason required to pay 6d. apiece, 
 but it is clear that they were not regarded as moral 
 delinquents, the bailiff's presentments of them being 
 quite distinct from the ale-tasters' presentments of 
 dishonest publicans. The amount of the fines imposed 
 upon respectable householders generally varied accord- 
 ing to the number of times on which they had com- 
 mitted a purely technical offence. ^ In the reign of 
 Henry the Sixth, these fines were payable to the 
 Constable of the Castle. Butchers were sometimes 
 amerced for selling meat at home, instead of bringing 
 it to market. They were also liable to get into 
 trouble if they removed the skins of the slaughtered 
 beasts and tried to sell them separately. The con- 
 sumers on the other hand were free to recover some 
 of their outlay. So it was that, in the reign of Henry 
 the Fourth, the steward of the household of Sir Hugh 
 Luttrell used to sell hides, calf-skins, and woolfells, 
 after sending beef, veal and mutton into the kitchen. ^ 
 
 1408, May 8. " John Diere, a common fisherman, went 
 away with his fish, in prejudice of the town and contrary to 
 the custom of the borough. Therefore he is in mercy, 4^. " 
 
 1424, October 23. " Walter Phelp, Walter Stone, Philip 
 Cras, John Oldley, tenants of the lord, sold their fish to 
 strangers before offering {protuP) it in the lord's court at the 
 Castle, contrary to the ancient ordinance. Therefore they 
 are in mercy, 6d. ^d. 6d. 3<^. " 
 
 The jury usually endorsed the presentments made 
 by the elected officers of the borough. In a few in- 
 stances they disagreed with the constables with regard 
 to assaults. The supplementary presentments made 
 by them, are far more varied and interesting than 
 
 • D.C.M. XII. 1-4. 2 D.C.M. XXXVII. 7.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 305 
 
 those made by the officers. The commonest offisnces, 
 reported time after time, were the laying of dung in 
 the streets, the obstruction of gutters, and the pollution 
 of streams. Then again the principal burgesses, from 
 the Benedictine Prior downwards, were frequently 
 amerced for allowing their pigs to roam at large in 
 the town, although it might have been argued that 
 there were no better scavengers. Some topographical 
 information is to be gleaned from precepts to particular 
 persons to repair specified roads and bridges. The 
 jury were always severe against persons who tried to 
 carry on more than one trade, against 'forestallers' who 
 intercepted provisions on the way to the market, and 
 ' regraters ' who bought wholesale in the morning 
 with a view to selling later in the day at an enhanced 
 price. The ordinary buyer was to be protected against 
 speculators of all sorts. 
 
 In imposing penalties on individuals, the jury was 
 often satisfied to rely upon common report, without 
 requiring evidence of the commission of a specific 
 offence. Thus a petty pilferer, or ' holcrop ', might 
 be amerced upon general grounds. ' 
 
 1408, May. " Ellen Watkyns is a common * holcroppe ' 
 of divers things and a common scold and disturber of the 
 peace. Therefore she is in mercy, 4^.... Geoffrey Taillour 
 is a common night-walker and disturber of the peace. There- 
 fore he is in mercy, half a mark. " ' 
 
 1443, April 8. "John [Towker, ' coryser, ' servant of 
 William Bedewyn] is a common spy or listener at the 
 windows of the neighbours, and likewise a common night- 
 walker and eavesdropper {lucultator). Therefore he is in 
 mercy, y. \d. " ' 
 
 1493, August 5. " Order John Huyshe and Jerard 
 Goldesmyth that henceforth they do not allow their wives 
 
 ' The obscure word ' holcrop ' occurs hampton. 
 also in the court rolls of the manor of * D.C.M. x. 3. 
 
 Minehead, and of the hundred of Car- * D.C.M. xii. 3.
 
 3o6 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 to quarrel or to use opprobrious or scandalous words against 
 their neighbours or them {seipsos)^ under pain of either of 
 them delinquent in the matter oiios. to be paid to the lord." ^ 
 
 From time to time the constables were directed by 
 the court to eject notorious scolds from the borough. 
 On rarer occasions the court displayed solicitude 
 as to the private morals of individual householders. 
 Under an ancient regulation, no burgess w^as allowed 
 to entertain a stranger for more than three days and 
 three nights without reporting him to the constables. 
 On the other hand two men were amerced i^d. apiece, 
 in 141 2, for refusing to receive certain pilgrims. 
 
 Men were liable to amercement if they refused to 
 serve as watchmen at the time of the Midsummer 
 bonfires. In the autumn, labourers were often fined 3^. 
 apiece for going away ' eastward ', with a view to 
 getting higher wages as harvesters than they could get 
 at Dunster. 
 
 In the second half of the fifteenth century, the 
 court made various ordinances for the good govern- 
 ment of the borough, some of which may be quoted 
 here : — 
 
 1467, April 20. " That nobody shall henceforth put 
 dung, straw, or other nuisances in the water running to the 
 lord's mills at any time of the week, save after (^citra) one 
 o'clock after noon on Saturday ; and that the whole ' flode- 
 yate ' standing in the same water shall be open by {ergo) the 
 aforesaid hour ; under pain of all those who can be found 
 in default of (id. to be paid to the lord. " ^ 
 
 1489, May II. " That nobody dwelling beside the lord's 
 water between the tenement of William Symes and the lord's 
 mill shall throw any dirt or straw into the water there during 
 the week, save on Sunday after two o'clock after noon, under 
 pain of every one delinquent therein of iid. every time. " 
 
 1490. October 22. " That nobody shall henceforth throw 
 
 ' D.C.M. XIII. I. 2 D.C.M. XII. 3.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 307 
 
 any dirt into the water running to the lord's mill, save only 
 on Saturday after twelve o'clock, under pain of ^od. " 
 
 1496, October 24. " That nobody shall henceforth put 
 or throw any dirt or dung in the water running to the lord's 
 mills save only on Saturday at the second hour after dinner, 
 under pain of 3^. as often as anyone shall happen to be 
 found in default herein. 
 
 i486, April 17. "That nobody shall henceforth put or 
 throw any ashes with fire on any ' donghill ' within the town, 
 under pain of ^od. " 
 
 1493, October 21. "That nobody in the borough shall 
 henceforth make a fire outside the chimney, in any house 
 covered with thatch {stramine)^ under pain of 10s. " 
 
 1488, April 29. " That nobody shall henceforth winnow 
 {yentulai) his grain in ' le Castell Bayly ' and at ' le Barrys ' 
 unless he forthwith remove the chaff arising therefrom, 
 under pain of everyone delinquent therein oi iid every 
 time. " 
 
 i486, April 17. "That nobody shall henceforth break 
 the palings of the lord's park or carry them away, or have 
 any gates or footpaths in the lord's park, without licence, 
 save the parker of the same, under pain oi \od. 
 
 1489, October 22. "That nobody shall henceforth sell 
 any loads of furze called ' trusses ' beyond i\d. under pain 
 of \id. of the seller and the buyer alike. " 
 
 1 49 1, April 25, "That nobody resident {manens) in the 
 borough, who is not a burgess, shall henceforth cut or dig 
 heath on Crowdon for sale, but only for his own use, under 
 pain of \od ; and that no stranger resident without the 
 borough shall henceforth cut or dig heath or turf on Crow- 
 don, unless he be hired by burgesses of the aforesaid borough, 
 under pain of 6j. %d. 
 
 1489, October 22. " That nobody of the country {patrie) 
 shall henceforth buy any grain in the market before ten 
 o'clock, under pain of 40^. 
 
 1496, October 24. " That no baker in the borough shall 
 henceforth buy grain in the market, or go into the market 
 to buy any grain therein before eleven o'clock, under pain 
 of 6s. Sd. one half to be paid to the lord and the other half 
 to the church. "
 
 3o8 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 1489, October 22. " That nobody shall henceforth keep 
 in his service any Irish servants, save one, under pain of 
 
 lOJ. " 
 
 1492, May. "That nobody shall henceforth keep grey- 
 hounds (Jeporarios sive leporarias) in the borough unless he 
 can spend 40J. of yearly income (redditus) under pain of 
 6s. %d. " ^ 
 
 1472, October 19. "That nobody shall henceforth use 
 or carry swords, lances, ' gleyves, ' or other defensible and 
 unlawful arms, contrary to the statute of our lord the king 
 provided in this respect, under pain of forfeiture of the same 
 and 6j. %d. for every offence of this sort, to be paid to the 
 lord as often as discovery shall be made. " 
 
 " And it is ordained likewise by the court, with the assent 
 of the twelve jurors and the other officers (aforesaid) that 
 no man shall henceforth shoot with his bows {arquis) and 
 arrows in the churchyard of Dunster, or unlawfully practice 
 games there, under pain of \od. 
 
 " And it is ordained likewise by the court, with the assent 
 of the twelve jurors (aforesaid) that nobody in the borough 
 shall henceforth play at dice or cards {cardos)^ under pain of 
 every one who shall be found in default thus of 6j. 8^. And 
 that nobody shall allow games of this sort to be practised in 
 his house, save during twelve days at Christmas, under pain 
 of los. " ' 
 
 1 49 1, October 24. "That nobody shall henceforth play 
 at dice or cards in the borough, save only during ten days 
 at Christmas, under pain of every one who shall so play 
 of 40^. every time, and of every one of those who shall 
 allow such games in their houses of 6s. %d. " ^ 
 
 In the interest of the lord, the court of the borough 
 of Dunster occasionally reported on treasure trove, on 
 felons' goods, and other accidental sources of profit. 
 As between individuals, it heard pleas of assault, tres- 
 pass, debt, detinue, breach of covenant, and other 
 
 ' D.C.M. XIII. I. This local ordinance mentonim, vol. iii. p. 273; vol. iv. p. 122. 
 was a belated echo of a statute of 1389 ^ D.C.M. xii. 4. 
 
 which was confirmed in 1419. St. 13. ■' D.C.M. xiii. i. 
 
 Ric. H. no. I. cap. 13 ; Rotuli Parlia-
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 309 
 
 matters. The rolls, however, give very little inform- 
 ation about private suits, beyond the mere names of 
 the parties. It seems clear that they were kept mainly 
 to record the fees and the amercements accruing to 
 the lord. 
 
 When John Luttrell succeeded his father. Sir Hugh, 
 in 1430, the bailiff was ordered to distrain the Abbot 
 of Cleeve and many other freeholders to do fealty to 
 him at the next court. ^ Suitors who did not attend 
 were liable to a fine of 3^. in the fifteenth century, 
 but the more substantial of them found it preferable 
 to compound for their absence for a twelvemonth by 
 a single payment of 4^. 6^. or is. according to cir- 
 cumstances. In 1 5 17, Sir John Trevelyan went to 
 the trouble of obtaining a writ ' of provision ' from 
 Westminster, directing the ' bailiffs ' of the borough 
 of Dunster to admit his attorney, the ' common 
 council ' of the realm having provided that every 
 free man owing suit to the court of a superior lord 
 might appoint another person to appear in his stead. ^ 
 This did not tend to raise the credit of the borough 
 court in local estimation. 
 
 For more than a century after the reign of Henry 
 the Eighth, the records of this court are very scanty, 
 but there are brief notes of pleas of debt heard therein 
 in the reign of Elizabeth. The staff of officers elected 
 annually seems to have been increased, about 161 6, 
 by the appointment of two searchers and sealers of 
 leather. ^ In 1 6 1 7 and the following year, the deputy 
 of the Clerk of the Market of the King's Household 
 attempted to exercise jurisdiction over the constables 
 of the borough, but George Luttrell applied to the 
 Exchequer for redress, contending with truth that he 
 
 ' D.C.M. XII. 2. to be to the Statute of Meiton of 1236. 
 
 » D.C.M. xiu. 3. The reference seems '' D.C.M. Iii. 13.
 
 3IO A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 and his ancestors, lords of Dunster, had been used 
 " to keepe courtes leete " there twice a year from 
 time out of mind. ^ 
 
 By the time of Charles the Second, the borough 
 court had lost much of its ancient authority, and its 
 meetings had become reduced to two in the year, one 
 in Easter term and the other in Michaelmas term, 
 survivals of the ' lawdays ' of the middle ages. Suc- 
 cessive stewards seem to have introduced various 
 changes of name and practice. In 1682, the amerce- 
 ments for non-attendance were bd. apiece for free 
 suitors and 3^. for other ' resiants, ' or residents, 
 within the borough. ' The lord's tenants, ' that is 
 to say lease-holders, were afterwards subjected to a 
 fine of 1J-. apiece for similar default. In 1732, there 
 is mention of " the jury at a court leet and court 
 baron held for the borough, " and seven years later a 
 nominal distinction was established between the court 
 leet for the borough and the court baron of the manor, 
 the former having a ' jury ' of twelve men and the 
 latter a ' homage ' of four or five, not always capable 
 of signing their own names. Both were, however, 
 summoned for the same day and place. The court 
 in Easter term was discontinued in 1762. 
 
 The records of the borough court in the seventeenth 
 and eighteenth centuries afford some scraps of topo- 
 graphical information, but are otherwise rather mono- 
 tonous. The bread-weighers, as of old, used to 'present' 
 bakers who sold loaves below the prescribed standard. 
 The clerks of the market were also watchful over 
 weights and measures. The ale-tasters used to demand 
 from the different publicans a sample quart of beer, 
 or a penny, " according to the custom of the manor. " 
 The street-keepers had frequent occasion to complain 
 
 ' Exchequer Decrees and Orders, Series H, vol. 28, f. 105.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 311 
 
 of persons who laid dung on the public thoroughfares, 
 or washed sheepskins in " the Dunster river. " For 
 their guidance an order was made in 1 7 1 2 as follows: — 
 
 " That the street-keepers shall not exact or receive more 
 then one penny for one pig, and proportionably for any 
 number they shall take up within the burrough, besides the 
 duty to the bayliff for the pound. " 
 
 Sometimes the elected officers were themselves 
 charged with neglect of their respective duties. Nor 
 was the lord of the manor always immune. Formal 
 presentments were occasionally made that he had 
 failed to keep the pavement of Market Street in 
 proper condition, and that he had not repaired the 
 stocks, the pillory and the cucking-stool, " instrum- 
 ents of justice. " On the other hand the court was 
 Jealous of his rights and would not suffer encroachment 
 on his waste by the erection of ' leaping-stocks ' or 
 otherwise. In 17 14, several persons were presented 
 for erecting porches in the street beyond the line of 
 their pent-houses, and for setting up sign-posts before 
 their respective doors. 
 
 In the nineteenth century, the court leet and the 
 court baron sat together, once a year. The chief 
 business of the former was to impose fines of \d. 
 apiece on all male residents in Dunster between the 
 ages of fourteen and seventy who had failed to appear. 
 In point of fact the collector was usually satisfied if 
 he could levy \d. to maintain the principle that suit 
 was due. The court baron affected to impose fines of 
 IS. 6d. on freeholders and is. on leaseholders who did 
 not attend. The same persons often served on the jury 
 and on the homage. After transacting a minimum of 
 purely formal business in the Town-hall, the members 
 used to adjourn to the Luttrell Arms Hotels to be 
 regaled at the cost of the lord of the manor. The
 
 312 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 courts, having long ceased to be of any use whatever, 
 were discontinued in 1891. 
 
 The periodical courts of the borough were, in the 
 middle ages, quite distinct from those of the manor. 
 The reeve of Dunster, the acting chief of the agricult- 
 ural community was, in 1 1 83, fined for exporting corn 
 from the realm. ^ In the various court-rolls, accounts, 
 and ' extents ' of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fif- 
 teenth centuries that have been preserved at the Public 
 Record Office and in the muniment-room at the 
 Castle, there seems at first sight to be a serious con- 
 fusion between the manors of Dunster and Carhampton. 
 Considering that many manors had outlying members, 
 the mere facts that Gillcotts at the eastern end of 
 Carhampton is at one time reckoned as part of Dun- 
 ster, while at another time Carhampton is made to 
 include Conigar, in the very heart of Dunster, would 
 not of themselves present any difficulty, if the docu- 
 ments did not appear to contradict each other on 
 points of greater importance, such as the situation of 
 the mills. The explanation is, however, very simple. 
 For agricultural and economic purposes, there was no 
 distinction between Carhampton and that part of 
 Dunster which lay without the borough. 
 
 "The delimitation of one manor from other manors of 
 the same lord seems to be a matter of convenience : one may 
 become two, two may become one, as the lord chooses to 
 have his accounts kept, his rents collected, his produce 
 garnered in this way or in that. " ^ 
 
 The manors of Dunster and Carhampton were for 
 centuries administered as one estate, the reeve taking 
 his title sometimes from one place, sometimes from 
 the other. Whenever there is a reeve's account for 
 
 ' Pipe Roll. English Law, vol. i. p. 604. 
 
 2 Pollock & Maitland's History of
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 313 
 
 one, there is none for the other, the two series of 
 accounts being in fact a single series, through which 
 certain yearly receipts and payments can be traced 
 continuously. ^ 
 
 In the reign of Richard the Second, the courts of 
 the combined manors of Dunster and Carhampton 
 used to be attended by the tithingmen of Carhampton 
 and Rodhuish, the woodwards of Langcombe and 
 Langridge, the parker of Marshwood and the gardener 
 of Lady de Mohun. 
 
 The rural population of the combined manors of 
 Dunster and Carhampton comprised two classes of 
 tenants, the freeholders, and those who held upon 
 servile conditions. The former are in 1266 styled 
 " tenants by charter. " Some of them paid rents in 
 money quarterly, some half-yearly, and some at 
 Michaelmas only. There were also various rents 
 payable in kind, such as capons, wax, and pepper. 
 Almost all the freeholders owed suit of court twice a 
 year at Hocktide (soon after Easter) and Michaelmas. 
 
 The quarterly rents paid by the customary tenants 
 or villeins amounted to more than those paid by the 
 freeholders. Certain sums were also levied from them 
 at Michaelmas under the name of ' larder-silver. ' 
 The value of the work which different persons had 
 to do for the lord was approximately equal to their 
 rent. Among the services enumerated in 1266 are 
 ploughing in winter, harrowing, weeding, sowing in 
 Lent, mowing, spreading and carrying hay, making 
 the hay-rick, reaping wheat, barley and oats, cleansing 
 the weir on the river, digging in the vineyard, and 
 gathering withies for hurdles. One tenant was bound 
 to provide a man, horse and wagon, when necessary, 
 
 ' Prynne increased the difficulty of reeve of Dunster with those of the 
 search by mixing the accounts of the bailiff of the boroufh.
 
 314 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 to go as far as Bridgewater in one direction, or the 
 border of the county on the road to Exeter in another. 
 Philip the Carter was similarly bound to deliver writs 
 issued in the lord's name. In consideration of the 
 rent and services minutely specified, each of the 
 peasants had his own piece of land. All their holdings 
 were small. Wymarca of Marshwood held half a 
 virgate of land, which in this district meant twenty- 
 four acres. ^ Eleven others held a ferling, that is to 
 say twelve acres, apiece. Sixteen others held six acres 
 apiece, and there were some who held even less. 
 The ' extent ' unfortunately says nothing as to the 
 length of tenure enjoyed by these different persons, 
 or as to the profits accruing to the lord upon the 
 death of any of them. ^ 
 
 Those of the peasants who had to devote an ex- 
 ceptional amount of time and labour to the service of 
 the lord had some special exemptions and privileges. 
 
 " Whosoever shall be reeve of Dunsterre shall be quit 
 of rent and all his other services, and shall have food (escul- 
 enta) in the Castle when the lord and lady are staying there. 
 And he shall have throughout the year at the cost of the 
 lord a mare of his without provender (unani equam suam 
 sine prebend' ). 
 
 " Whosoever shall be hayward (messor) shall be quit of 
 rent and of service, and shall have a virgate of meadow in 
 Karemor, and a moiety of a * logge ' there beside the hay- 
 rick, containing seven feet in length and seven feet in 
 breadth, to guard the lord's meadow covered with hay ; and 
 he shall have a * stathel ' of the said rick of the depth of 
 about a foot. And he shall have * landweyes ' everywhere 
 except in Prestelonde where the lord cannot plough ; and at 
 every boonwork of August a sheaf and [the like] at every 
 
 Mn an ' extent ' of the adjoining ^ In the ' extent ' mentioned in the 
 
 manor of Minehead made in 1300, it is previous note there is a statement that 
 
 specifically stated that half a virgate " if the lord shall wish to have a keeper 
 
 contained twenty-four acres, and that a of the water of La Waterlete, he (the 
 
 ferling contained twelve acres. D.C.M. keeper) shall have a ' slabb ' of iron to 
 
 XXVI. 2. make his spade (bcscam). "
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 315 
 
 boonwork for carrying the lord's corn. And it is worth 
 3J. 8^. And he has in La Waterlete a cow quit of herbage. 
 And it is worth Gd. 
 
 " Whosoever shall be bedel shall be quit of rent and 
 service and shall have a virgate in Karamor and a cow there 
 and a moiety of the said ' logge, ' and a sheaf as above, and 
 his dinner. 
 
 " Whosoever shall be keeper of La Waterlete shall be 
 quit of rent and service and shall have a cow in La Water- 
 lete and a ' slab ' of iron for the repair of his spade (bescam) 
 of the price of i^d. and dinner as above. 
 
 " The carpenter shall make four ploughs (faciei iiij carucas 
 et exallar ) with all the gear (atillo), a cart (carettam) for 
 dung (fynia)^ and four wagons and all reins, and the outer 
 gate of the Barton, and he shall be quit of rent and service, 
 and shall have a virgate in Karamor and a cow in Waterlete 
 and dinner as above. 
 
 " Whosoever shall be a ploughman (carucarius) shall be 
 quit of rent and service and [shall have the use of the 
 plough] the second Saturday throughout the year. " ^ 
 
 In an account of the reeve of Dunster and Car- 
 hampton for 1259, he credits himself in the first 
 instance : — 
 
 " In the allowance of works for a year for the reeve, the 
 bedel of Karempton, the carpenter, the hayward {haywardo\ 
 six ploughmen, and the keeper of the water, 23J. " 
 
 Inasmuch as he does not debit himself with any 
 pecuniary receipts for ' works ' sold or commuted, it 
 would appear that at this date the lord's demesne was 
 actually cultivated by the villeins, his customary 
 tenants. Their obligatory services were, however, 
 insufficient for the purpose, and the reeve had to 
 employ some men on task-work {ad tascham)^ for 
 which they were duly paid. The rental of Carhamp- 
 ton, which included the agricultural part of Dunster, 
 
 • D.C.M. viii. 4 ; Ciistutuals of Bailie Abbiy (ed. Bird), p. 66.
 
 3i6 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 was then 14/. los. lo^d. in money, besides rents in 
 capons, fowls, pepper and wax. ^ 
 
 Twenty years later, the pecuniary rents are carefully 
 divided — 5/. 1 3/. lod. from free men and 1 1/. 6j-. 9^^. 
 from villeins, whose customary works were valued at 
 a further sum oi ill. lis. ^\d. 
 
 The lord's demesne then comprised various woods 
 and pastures and 493 acres of land, varying in value 
 from i\d. to 6d.^ An inquisition of 1330 states that 
 I GO acres of arable land there were worth /\.d. apiece, 
 and that 300 other acres were worth 6d. while 58^ 
 acres of meadow were worth as much as 2s. 6d. apiece. 
 The ' works ' of the customary tenants were then 
 valued at 10/. 5/. /\.d. ^ There are no accounts extant 
 to show how much of the agricultural work on the 
 demesne was actually done by the villeins in the middle 
 of the fourteenth century. It is, however, tolerably 
 certain that, as money decreased in value, they availed 
 themselves more and more of the right of commuting 
 their personal services for pecuniary payments upon 
 a scale fixed long before. In course of time, more- 
 over, many of them surrendered their holdings and 
 took them back upon new conditions, to be held 
 ' according to the custom of the manor ' and ' by copy 
 of court-roll. ' * 
 
 Several incidental mentions of the Barton, or home- 
 farm, of the medieval lords of Dunster show that it 
 stood under the shadow of the Tor near the Barn- 
 bridge over the river, a little to the north of the 
 grist-mills. A gate led thence into the Hanger Park. ^ 
 There was also a court and grange at Marsh belonging 
 to the Castle. "^ In many manors, such as Minehead, 
 
 1 D.C.M. XVII. 2. * D.C.M. XVIII. 5, 6. 
 
 - Inq. post mortem, C. Edw. I. file '" D.C.M. xi. 3. 
 
 22 (i). * D.C.M. xviii. 2. 
 3 Ibid. C. Edw. III. iile 22 (11).
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 317 
 
 small pieces of the demesne were intermingled with 
 plots of land belonging to different tenants. In Duns- 
 ter and Carhampton, however, most of the demesne 
 consisted of large fields enclosed by hedges. One 
 outlying piece of pasture called ' Kingsallers ' recalls 
 by its name the fact that Carhampton had belonged 
 to William the Conqueror and to King Edward before 
 him. Another piece of the demesne was known as 
 ' Old Court. ' The Waterlete already mentioned lay 
 to the north-east of the town and was divided into 
 three fields, Chapelwaterlete, comprising about 96 
 acres near Giltchapel, Chiselwaterlete, nearer to the 
 sea, and Marshwaterlete, near Marsh, each of these 
 two comprising about 69 acres. All three were well 
 irrigated and very fertile. These, with perhaps some 
 others, were known for centuries as ' the lord's fields. ' 
 The common fields, divided into strips, were mostly 
 on the north side of Grabbist. 
 
 In the later part of the fourteenth century, Lady 
 de Mohun, having left Dunster and closed the Castle, 
 virtually ceased to maintain the farm there. The 
 demesne was let in sections, and the rent therefrom 
 was sent to her in London or in Kent. Under these 
 circumstances, it would have been difficult to maintain 
 an effisctive claim upon the services of villeins. By 
 I 377, the number of ' autumn works ' in this manor 
 had, through various causes, fallen to forty-nine and a 
 half, which were ' sold, ' or commuted, for zd. apiece. 
 Most of these were practically remitted in the follow- 
 ing year, when the Waterletes were let " to divers 
 tenants, " probably some of the very persons who 
 were liable for their cultivation. Under the system 
 then introduced, the owner of the Castle got 2j. 6^. 
 from every acre sown in the spring and reaped in the 
 summer, with something additional for the right of
 
 3i8 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 turning beasts on to the land in autumn and winter. 
 Each of these three great fields was in turn allowed 
 to lie fallow for a year. ^ 
 
 Sir Hugh Luttrell did not materially alter the 
 agricultural arrangements which he found in force 
 when he obtained the Mohun estate. Maintaining 
 a home-farm at East Quantockshead, he made no 
 attempt to grow cereals on the demesne at Dunster, 
 or to keep cattle or sheep there. Hay was, however, 
 necessary for his horses, and so he took some of the 
 meadows into his own hands. He also resumed pos- 
 session of various pieces of the demesne adjoining the 
 Hanger Park, for the enlargement of it and for the 
 use of his household. In his time, certain tenants at 
 Broadwood paid 2s. ()d. year after year for ' autumn 
 works ' commuted into money. ^ Occasional services 
 known as ' boonworks ' were sometimes exacted from 
 the customary tenants now greatly reduced in num- 
 ber. Ten men who were called upon to dig in 
 Chapel waterlete in 141 5 "" de prece \ received only 
 two pennyworth of bread. Some men and women 
 working in the same year among the beans in the 
 field known as Avelham were given mutton, pork, 
 oatmeal, bread, cheese, salt and beer, but no wages. ^ 
 
 In the inquisitions taken after the deaths of Sir 
 Hugh Luttrell in 1428 and Sir John Luttrell in 1430, 
 ' rents of assise ' amounting to i o/. ^s. j\d. are de- 
 scribed as payable by free tenants. There is, however, 
 no mention of villeins or copyholders. On the other 
 hand, the demesne at Dunster and Carhampton is 
 returned as larger than on former occasions, and the 
 lord is credited with owning no less than sixty-six 
 messuages of the yearly value of 8^. apiece. * Al- 
 
 ' D.C.M. IX. 3 ; XIV. 15, 19. 4 inq. post mortem, 6 Hen. VI. no. 32; 
 
 = D.C.M. X. I. 9 Hen. VI. no. 51. 
 
 3 D.C.M. XI. I.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 319 
 
 though the villein could obtain protection in the 
 manorial court, the royal courts were wont to regard 
 his land as part of the lord's demesne. ^ None of 
 the local rolls contain any reference to the fact that 
 Carhampton had formed part of the ' ancient demesne ' 
 of the Crown, which might have conferred certain 
 privileges on the tenants. * 
 
 There are several references to villeinage in the 
 court-rolls of Dunster and Carhampton in the reign 
 of Henry the Sixth. In 1439, Nicholas son of Payn 
 Ekedene paid 3J-. 4^. as head-money for leave to be 
 absent for a twelvemonth. ^ Ten years later, there 
 is the following entry : — 
 
 " The bailiff is in mercy because he has not distrained 
 John Stone, the lord's bondman of blood, to answer the 
 lord for having sent his son John to the schools without 
 licence, contrary to the custom, 2^- " * 
 
 The roll for 1429 contains a full transcript of an 
 inquisition taken at Crowcombe before the steward 
 of Richard Biccombe, lord of that manor, certifying 
 that a certain Richard West and his sons had always 
 been free men. ' Some member of the family may 
 have wished to migrate. 
 
 One of the most onerous conditions of unfree status 
 was the liability of having to serve as reeve. His 
 duty it was to exact from the other villeins the manual 
 works that they owed to the lord, and it is easy to 
 imagine the bickering that must have arisen when he 
 called men away from their little holdings. One 
 might dispute the amount of service claimed ; another 
 might simply attempt to procrastinate, so as to be 
 able to attend to his own crops in favourable weather. 
 
 1 Pollock and Maitland's History of ' D.C.M. xviii. 4. 
 
 English Law, vol. i. p. 363. * D.C.M. xvm. 6. 
 
 - Ibid. pp. 383-406. * D.C.M. XVIII. 5.
 
 320 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 Small wonder then that the more prosperous villeins 
 were generally anxious to avoid an unprofitable and 
 thankless task. In 1430, nobody could be found to 
 undertake it at Carhampton, and the ' homage ' was 
 accordingly amerced at the ' lawday ' of Michaelmas 
 term. ^ As the lands held in villeinage were gradually 
 converted into copyholds in the reign of Henry the 
 Sixth, the tenants, taking them under fresh conditions, 
 were careful to stipulate in court that they and their 
 successors should not be called upon to serve the office 
 of reeve. ^ This led to a fresh tax upon those who 
 had not been thus emancipated. In the account for 
 1 460, the heading " new rent " records the receipt of 
 a shilling apiece from thirty-eight persons for exempt- 
 ion from service as reeve of Dunster and Carhampton. "* 
 An exactly similar levy was made at Minehead in the 
 following year. * Considering that there could not 
 be more than one reeve in each manor, it seems 
 obvious that the lord got a fresh source of income. 
 The " new rent for dyscharging of the reveshippe " 
 is mentioned in the Carhampton accounts as late as 
 1529. ^ By this time conditions had altered so ma- 
 terially that no reeve was really wanted. Rents of 
 assise " both of freemen and bondmen {natworuni) 
 are mentioned in 1533. ^ 
 
 There is a memorandum of the year 1 648 that a 
 certain Rice Richards, who then held a house in 
 Gallockstreet at Dunster on a lease for lives, was 
 bound " to pay, besides \s. rent per annum, one 
 journey with a horse and cart or butt from Minehead, 
 or 1 2d. in Hew therof per annum. " ^ 
 
 In addition to the customary services and ' boon- 
 
 1 D.C.M. XVIII. 6. 5 D.C.M. xix. 4, 8 ; XX. 38. 
 
 * Ihid. 6 D.C.M. XIX. 9. 
 
 * D.C.M. XVIII. 4. 7 D.C.M. III. 12. 
 
 * D.C.M. I. 27.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 321 
 
 works ' of villeins in Dunster and Carhampton, the 
 medieval lord of the manor received some agricultural 
 help from men of a much higher social position. By 
 a somewhat uncommon arrangement, the Prior of the 
 Benedictine cell at Dunster, the lords of the manors 
 of Avill and Withycombe, and the owner of land 
 called Gillcotts (Gildencote) were alike bound to 
 provide a wagon with two men and eight oxen to 
 carry corn or hay for a day apiece. Inasmuch as the 
 Mohuns and their successors, the Luttrells, had to 
 supply food for the wagoners, these 'carriage-works' 
 were valued at only a shilling apiece. ^ In 1376, one 
 of them was actually performed, the other three being 
 ' sold, ' or commuted. The history of the work 
 due from the manor of Withycombe is obscure, and the 
 works due from Gillcotts and the Prior of Dunster 
 cannot have continued after the acquisition of both 
 these places by the Luttrells in the sixteenth century. 
 With regard to the fourth work, however, there is 
 an interesting entry in a rental of 1648, showing that 
 John Stocker, esquire, paid a shilling a year as a ' high 
 rent ' in respect of Avill to George Luttrell, as lord 
 of the manor of Carhampton Barton. This was quite 
 distinct from his feodary rent to the Barony of Dun- 
 ster, his common fine to the Hundred of Carhampton, 
 and his Candlemas rent. ^ Although he was presum- 
 ably ignorant of its origin, it may clearly be said to 
 represent the old commutation for non-performance 
 of a ' carriage-work. ' By 1 746, it had disappeared 
 from the rental. 
 
 The Mohun Cartulary contains a copy of part of 
 a very curious treatise on husbandry written in French 
 in the first half of the fourteenth century for the 
 
 > D.C.M. IX. 2, 3 ; xvm. 2, 4 ; xix. 4 ; » D.C.M. iii. 12. 
 
 XX. 38 ; XXXII. 13.
 
 322 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 benefit of the lord of Dunster or one of his principal 
 agents. In explaining the system that should be fol- 
 lowed, it probably illustrates that which was in force 
 at the time. The earlier portion being unfortunately 
 missing, the document deals only with arrangements 
 subsequent to the harvest. It prescribes three valua- 
 tions of the crops to be made after the gathering of 
 them into barns, and before the threshing. The first 
 of these was to be made by the sworn ' homage, ' men 
 presumably chosen at the court baron of the manor. 
 The writer, however, states that it would not be well 
 to attach too much credit to this valuation, as the 
 members of the ' homage ' might be afraid of being 
 held responsible if the yield should not eventually 
 come up to their expectations. The second valuation 
 was to be made by the bailiff, sworn upon the book 
 of the Gospels. The third was to be made by the 
 auditors of the lord's accounts, or, in their absence, 
 by the steward or the constable, with two or three 
 trustworthy neighbours experienced in such matters, 
 and two or three of the older threshers who knew the 
 barns and were competent to estimate the yield of every 
 sheaf and mow {chescun tasse e meye). After these three 
 valuations, the lord would be able, with the advice 
 of his council, to say how much grain would be want- 
 ed for his household, and how much could be offered 
 for sale. 
 
 The treatise then prescribes the appointment by 
 the lord and his council of a faithful ' granger, ' who 
 was to be supplied with a horse. It was considered 
 that one such officer would suffice for the manors 
 of Dunster, Minehead, and Kilton, all belonging to 
 the Mohun demesne. When the lord or the lady 
 was in residence at the Castle, he was to have his 
 meals at their board ; at other times he was to eat in
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 323 
 
 the Benedictine Priory, or, failing this, in the house 
 of some respectable townsman, avoiding, however, the 
 tables of the bailiff and the reeve, so that he should 
 not be tempted into dishonest ways. These arrange- 
 ments suggest that the granger was not to be one of 
 the tenants ordinarily resident on the spot. 
 
 The granger was to be made to swear that whenever 
 he should come to Dunster to superintend the thresh- 
 ing, he would securely lock and seal the doors of 
 the barns every evening. Furthermore, he was not 
 to be trusted with the custody of the keys, and he 
 was to be required to deliver them duly sealed to the 
 constable of the Castle, to the Prior, or to some other 
 trusty person nominated by the lord. When at Mine- 
 head or at Kilton for a like purpose, boarding with the 
 Vicar, he was to deliver the keys to his host every 
 evening. Considering that these parsons were not 
 dependent upon the lord of Dunster, it may seem 
 strange that they should be expected to receive his 
 servant and undertake responsibility on his behalf. 
 
 The treatise alludes more than once to a ' chariour 
 e bernbrutte^ ' who seems to have had some author- 
 ity over the threshers. Among various sayings 
 quoted by the author, there is one to the effect that 
 even if a man employed his own brother as a thresher 
 he must watch him with eyes before and behind. 
 The husks were to be re-threshed if necessary, and no 
 residues were to be given away for the sustenance of 
 the destriers, palfreys, or horses of the steward, the 
 constable, the bailiff or the reeve. Placed in a separ- 
 ate store-house, they would be useful for the lord's 
 capons, hens, chickens and pigeons. 
 
 Another saying quoted runs : — 
 
 " Qui de poy ne tient conte 
 de leger va a haunte. "
 
 324 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 The anonymous author suggests that the bailiff or 
 some other officer should, during the threshing in 
 August, cause the produce of every tenth or twentieth 
 sheaf of corn to be put aside, as a criterion of the 
 amount that the whole crop should yield. The bailiff 
 and the ' chariour ' or ' bernbrutte ' were alike to be 
 forbidden to distribute or sell grain to any person 
 whatever otherwise than by the standard bushel 
 sanctioned by royal ordinance, " without heap or 
 cantle. 
 
 The treatise concludes with a recommendation 
 that the ' launds ' of Marshwood Park, comprising 
 four hundred acres, should be ploughed and sown, 
 and that the remainder of it should be enclosed to 
 contain the deer. If cowhouses and storehouses 
 were established there, Marshwood might, in the 
 writer's opinion, be made to yield more profit than 
 all the demesne of Dunster. 
 
 Among the endowments given by William de 
 Mohun to the monks of Bath, before the year i loo, 
 was the tithe of his vines at Dunster, which would 
 not have been mentioned in his charter unless account- 
 ed of some value. ^ The expense of cultivating the 
 vineyard there and the sale of the Ybcal wine are alike 
 mentioned in 1 177. ^ An ' extent ' of the manor of 
 Dunster made in 1266, shows that thirty-four of the 
 villeins were required to dig half a perch apiece in 
 the lord's vineyard [in vite) every year, each of these 
 works being assessed at ^d. ^ It further states that 
 the vineyard comprised seven acres. * The produce 
 of the vineyard was, in 1 279, valued at i 8j-. ^ In 
 1284, there is mention of a wine-press [pressorium) 
 
 1 Two Chartularies of Bath (S.R.S.), * Mohun Cartulary. 
 
 C. no. 34. * Inq. post mortem, C. Edvv. I. file 
 
 « Pipe Roll, 23 Hen. II. 22 (i). 
 * D.C.M. VIII. 4.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 325 
 
 and in i 376 of a ' keeper of the vines ' who received a 
 regular salary, his duties doubtless requiring special 
 skill and care. ' The exact position of the Dunster 
 vineyard is specified in a deed of the year 141 9, which 
 shows it to have occupied the sunny slope at the back 
 of the house now known as the Luttrell Arms Hotel. ' 
 There was also a vineyard at Minehead, and the 
 last Lady de Mohun used to have wine sent to her 
 therefrom after she had ceased to reside in Somerset. ' 
 
 Her successor at Dunster, Sir Hugh Luttrell, event- 
 ually abolished the vineyard, turning it into ordinary 
 pasture within the Hanger Park. He had crossed 
 the seas several times, and he may well have preferred 
 the wine of Bordeaux to any that could be made on 
 his own estate. The name of ' le Wynard, ' how- 
 ever, survived some time in the yearly accounts of 
 the reeve of Carhampton Barton and Dunster. * 
 
 A rental of the manor of Carhampton Barton in 
 1648, and a survey made seven years later, show several 
 classes of tenants. A few freeholders were still paying 
 * high rents ' of small amount although of great 
 antiquity. There were forty-seven copyhold estates 
 and twenty-eight leasehold estates. Practically, how- 
 ever, there was not much difference between them. 
 Copyholders and leaseholders alike paid low rents, 
 the lord exacting a heavy fine on the expiration of a 
 tenancy, and a heriot on the death of each tenant of 
 an estate created for two or three lives. By this date 
 the manor had ceased to extend beyond the limits 
 of the parish, though in itself much smaller than the 
 parish. In at least one of the subsisting leases there 
 was a stipulation that the tenant should have her 
 corn ground at the Dunster mill. In other respects, 
 
 1 Miscellanea (Chancery), bundle 3, ' D.C.M. xxvi. 2. 
 
 no. 21, (5-7) ; D.C.M. ix. 2. * D.C.M. xi. i ; xviii. 2. 
 
 » D.C.M. I. 4 ; VIII. 2.
 
 326 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 the separation of Carhampton from Dunster was com- 
 plete. The manorial courts of Carhampton were 
 discontinued in 1867. 
 
 A similar survey of the manor of Dunster in 1650 
 specifies thirty-one leasehold estates, yielding altogether 
 only 1 2/. ijs. a year, held for lives and subject to fines 
 on renewal and heriots on succession. The copyholders 
 had entirely disappeared. On the other hand there is 
 a list of " Dunster rents called St. Burye's Rents, " 
 collected quarterly by the bailiff of the borough. ^ 
 Considering that there was no connexion between 
 Dunster and the Cornish St. Buryan, the name seems 
 at first sight rather puzzling. It appears, however, 
 that, during the lifetime of the first Sir Hugh Luttrell, 
 his eldest son, John, demised certain burgages and 
 lands to Reynold Seynesbury and Margaret his wife, 
 and afterwards settled them on their daughter, Cather- 
 ine the wife of Thomas Cook of Exeter. ^ Some of 
 the details of the transaction are obscure, but it seems 
 to have comprised all lands in the western part of 
 Dunster that were then in the lord's hand, either as part 
 of the original demesne, as purchases, or as escheats. 
 The accounts of the reign of Henry the Eighth record 
 the receipt of rents for ' Saynsbery londes. ' ^ 
 
 At the time of the Domesday Survey of 1086, 
 there were two mills at ' Torre ' which yielded i os. 
 a year to William de Mohun. The gradual but 
 steady increase in their value is not without interest 
 from an economical point of view. As early as the 
 year 1279, it had risen to 2/. 13^.4^.* In 1329, Sir 
 John de Mohun demised his two corn-mills [molyns 
 blaers) at Dunster, with the services of his men due 
 
 ' D.C.M. III. 12. < Inq. post mortem, C. Edw. I. file 
 
 ' D.C.M. VIII. 2. 22 (i). 
 
 » D.C.M. XIX. 9.
 
 THE GRIST-MI 1 
 DUNSTER.
 
 CH. IX. A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. 327 
 
 thereto, to one of the burgesses named Walter Rughe, 
 at a rent of 24 marks, that is to say 16/. ^ In 1405, 
 the advisory council of Sir Hugh Luttrell granted a 
 lease of them for sixty years at a rent of 10/. upon 
 condition that the tenants should do all repairs, if 
 supplied with such timber as might be necessary for 
 the purpose. ^ 
 
 Inasmuch as the mills belonged absolutely to the 
 lord, the rent arising from them was never confounded 
 with the rent of the little freeholders. In some doc- 
 uments indeed it is entered under the heading of the 
 manor of Carhampton Barton, as distinguished from 
 that of the borough of Dunster. ^ The ' services ' 
 mentioned above consisted of course in every tenant's 
 bringing his corn to be ground at these mills. The 
 privileged miller had no rivals to fear, the mill at 
 Avill, in the parish of Dunster, being in a different 
 manor, and not belonging to the lord of the Castle. 
 Needless to say that the records of the court of Dunster 
 contain frequent complaints that he levied exorbitant 
 charges upon his helpless clients. 
 
 In 1427, William Person, the lessee of the two 
 ancient mills, erected a third, adjoining the Lower Mill, 
 the new rent of which was fixed at only 2/. 6s. 8^. 
 in consideration of his capital outlay. * Thus in 
 143 1 and long afterwards, there were three mills, 
 known respectively as the ' Overmylle, ' the ' Nether- 
 mylle, ' and the ' Newmylle. ' ^ In 1620, the first 
 of these was called ' the Higher Mill, ' while the 
 other two, united under one roof, were called ' the 
 Lower Mill. ' "^ By 1739, the rent of the water 
 grist-mills had been raised to 22/. In 1777, it was 
 
 ' D.C.M. viii. 2. * D.C.M. XI. 3 ; xviii. 4. 
 
 * D.C.M. X. 2. * Iiiq. post mortiin,9 Hen. VI. no. 51. 
 
 * D.C.M. XVIII. 2, 4; XIX. Q ; Inq. post "^ I). CM. xv. 10. 
 mortem, 9 Hen. VI. no. 51,
 
 328 A HISTORY OF DUNSTER. ch. ix. 
 
 35/. loj. The Upper Mill has entirely disappeared. 
 The Lower Mill, with two wheels, was partly rebuilt 
 in 1 80 1 upon the old site, and perhaps to some extent 
 according to the old design, some of the windows 
 being pointed. Nestling amid lofty trees immediately 
 under the precipitous slope of the Tor, and close to 
 a clear stream fringed with dock-leaves and meadow- 
 sweet, the grist-mill of Dunster has long been a favour- 
 ite subject with artists and photographers. In 1886, 
 just eight hundred years after the compilation of 
 Domesday Book, the rent of the mill was fixed at 
 40/., eighty times the nominal amount of its value in 
 the reign of William the Conqueror. The wheels, 
 however, often stand idle nowadays, the lessee having 
 a more important mill at Minehead. 
 
 A quaint little bridge, just below the mill, consid- 
 erably altered by Henry Fownes Luttrell in the 
 eighteenth century, may represent the Mill-bridge 
 mentioned in medieval records.
 
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