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 cross has an octagonal base and polygonal shaft, however the head of the cross has been lost. It stands on a small area of raised ground on a plinth. The socket stone is wide and high. The surviving shaft is high and changes from square to octagonal as it rises. There is an inscription on the northern face which says "WC, 1871, WS" recording a restoration. It is in the care of English Heritage for the state and managed by the National Trust. Other notable buildings include the Nunnery, Dunster Watermill, Dovecote and the Priory barn, which belonged to Dunster