Dunster Butter Cross Dunster Butter Cross The Butter Cross in Dunster within the English county of Somerset is a Grade II* listed building and ancient monument. The cross was originally erected in the late 14th or early 15th century in the main street, and was moved to its current site in the late 18th or early 19th century. Although the head of the cross is missing, the shaft and socket stone are original. The cross is in the care of English Heritage and is managed by the National Trust. The name Buttercross originates from their location in market places, where people from neighbouring
Dunster Castle with a supply of venison as well as generating income. During the 15th century, England was divided by the prolonged period of civil war called the Wars of the Roses: the Luttrells were supporters of the House of Lancaster. In 1461, Sir James Luttrell died following the Lancastrian defeat at the Second Battle of St Albans, and his family were deprived of their estates by the Yorkist Edward IV. The castle was given to the Herberts, but the Luttrells regained it on the accession of the Lancastarian Henry VII in 1485, when Dunster was restored to James' son, Sir Hugh