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
Henry Dunster Henry Dunster Henry Dunster (November 26, 1609 (baptized) – February 27, 1658/1659) was an Anglo-American Puritan clergyman and the first president of Harvard College. Brackney says Dunster was "an important precursor" of the Baptist denomination in America, especially regarding infant baptism, soul freedom, religious liberty, congregational governance, and a radical biblicism. He was born at Bolholt, Bury, Lancashire, England to Henry Dunster (1580–1646) and Henry's first wife Isabel Kaye. Dunster studied at Magdalene College, Cambridge as a sizar, specializing in oriental languages and earning a reputation as a Hebrew scholar. He earned a bachelor's degree (1630) and his master's degree