Feudal barony of Dunster Fownes (c. 1722 – 1780), who under his father-in-law's will inherited the Luttrell estates including Dunster Castle, with the proviso that he should adopt the surname and arms of Luttrell. Henry Fownes (c. 1722 – 1780), who married the heiress Margaret Luttrell (1726–1766) and under his father-in-law's will inherited the Luttrell estates including Dunster Castle, with the proviso that he should adopt the surname and arms of Luttrell. He was High Sheriff of Somerset from 1754 to 1755, and a Member of Parliament for Minehead from 1768 to 1774. The couple modernised the Castle, in the Georgian style, which included
Dunster Castle sold the castle back to Geoffrey in 1954. His son Colonel Walter Luttrell lived away from Dunster, and following the death of his mother – the last Luttrell to live in the property – gave the castle and most of its contents to the National Trust in 1976. Dunster Castle is operated by the National Trust as a tourist attraction. Little remains of the medieval castle except for the Great Gatehouse and the remains of several towers in the Lower Ward; the heart of the modern castle today is the much altered 17th-century manor house. The key features of the