Dunster Castle motte, or Upper Ward, and an area below shaped to form the bailey, or Lower Ward. Somerset became more stable in the aftermath of the post-invasion period and the unsuccessful 1068 rebellion against Norman rule. It was common in the period for the Normans to build religious houses to accompany major castles, and accordingly William de Mohun endowed a Benedictine priory at Dunster in 1090, along with its parent abbey at Bath. The River Avill was important for trade; the region around Dunster was rich with fisheries and vineyards, and Dunster Castle prospered. Stone fortifications were built on the site
Henry Dunster Dunster married twice; both his wives were named Elizabeth. His first wife was Elizabeth (Harris) Glover, the widow of Joseph Glover. They married on June 21, 1641. She died in 1643, leaving Dunster with land and property, including the first printing press in the colony, and leaving him shared responsibility for her estate and her five children by her first marriage. Dunster married Elizabeth Atkinson (1627–1690) in 1644. Together they had five children. Dunster House, one of the twelve residential houses of Harvard University, is named after Henry Dunster. Links to digital facsimiles of the Papers of Henry Dunster and