Dunster it was part of Williton Rural District. The district council is responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism. The larger and most expensive local services such as education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport, policing and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning are the responsibility of Somerset County Council. As Dunster falls within the Exmoor National Park, some functions normally administered by district or county councils have, since 1997, fallen under the Exmoor National Park
Dunster Castle Howards regiment. During this period the castle still kept an armoury of 43 muskets. Francis died heavily in debt in 1690, and his widow Mary moved the contents of the castle to London, where they were destroyed in a fire in 1696. At the start of the 18th century the Luttrells and Dunster Castle faced many financial challenges. Francis's son Alexander, inherited the castle when he came of age in 1704, but it was still mostly empty and carried large debts with it. Alexander died young in 1711 and his widow, Dorothy, spent almost twenty years paying off the debts.