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 (1634) and taught at Magdalene. He served as Headmaster of Bury Grammar School and was a curate at Saint Mary's Church in Bury. Sponsored by Rev. Richard Mather, Dunster emigrated to Boston, Massachusetts in 1640. When Nathaniel Eaton was dismissed in 1639 as master of the recently established Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dunster was appointed as his successor. Thus on August 27, 1640 Dunster became the first president of Harvard. "(For a discussion of Dunster's choice of the title "president" see President#Title.)" He modeled Harvard's educational system on that of the English schools such as Eton College and Cambridge