The Okie Legacy: The Dunster Castle of County Dublin, Ireland

Soaring eagle logo. Okie Legacy Banner. Click here for homepage.

Moderated by NW Okie!

Volume 13 , Issue 18

2011

Weekly eZine: (364 subscribers)
Subscribe | Unsubscribe
Using Desktop...

Sections
Alva Mystery
Opera House Mystery

Albums...
1920 Alva PowWow
1917 Ranger
1926 Ranger
1937 Ranger
Castle On the Hill

Stories Containing...

Blogs / WebCams / Photos
NW Okie's FB
OkieJournal FB
OkieLegacy Blog
Ancestry (paristimes)
NW Okie Instagram
Flickr Gallery
1960 Politcal Legacy
1933 WIRangeManuel
Volume 13
1999  Vol 1
2000  Vol 2
2001  Vol 3
2002  Vol 4
2003  Vol 5
2004  Vol 6
2005  Vol 7
2006  Vol 8
2007  Vol 9
2008  Vol 10
2009  Vol 11
2010  Vol 12
2011  Vol 13
2012  Vol 14
2013  Vol 15
2014  Vol 16
2015  Vol 17
2016  Vol 18
2017  Vol 19
2018  Vol 20
2021  Vol 21
Issues 18
Iss 1  1-3 
Iss 2  1-10 
Iss 3  1-17 
Iss 4  1-24 
Iss 5  1-31 
Iss 6  2-7 
Iss 7  2-14 
Iss 8  2-21 
Iss 9  2-28 
Iss 10  3-7 
Iss 11  3-14 
Iss 12  3-21 
Iss 13  3-28 
Iss 14  4-11 
Iss 15  4-11 
Iss 16  4-18 
Iss 17  4-25 
Iss 18  5-2 
Iss 19  5-9 
Iss 20  5-16 
Iss 21  5-23 
Iss 22  5-30 
Iss 23  6-6 
Iss 24  6-13 
Iss 25  6-20 
Iss 26  6-27 
Iss 27  7-4 
Iss 28  7-11 
Iss 29  7-18 
Iss 30  7-25 
Iss 31  8-1 
Iss 32  8-8 
Iss 33  8-15 
Iss 34  8-23 
Iss 35  8-29 
Iss 36  9-5 
Iss 37  9-12 
Iss 38  9-19 
Iss 39  9-26 
Iss 40  10-3 
Iss 41  10-10 
Iss 42  10-17 
Iss 43  10-24 
Iss 44  10-31 
Iss 45  11-7 
Iss 46  11-14 
Iss 47  11-21 
Iss 48  11-28 
Iss 49  12-5 
Iss 50  12-12 
Iss 51  12-19 
Iss 52  12-26 
Other Resources
NWOkie JukeBox

The Dunster Castle of County Dublin, Ireland

[Photo on the left: Dunster Castle, the historical home of the Luttrell family dominates the steep hill overlooking the small picturesque village of Dunster in Somerset. It looks out over Exmoor and the Bristol Channel and is home to both England's oldest lemon tree and the National collection of strawberry trees. There has been a castle on the site for over 1000 years. Initially the castle was granted by William the Conqueror to William de Mohun whose family lived in the castle until it was sold in 1376 by Lady Joan de Mohun to Lady Elizabeth Luttrell. The descendants of Lady Elizabeth Luttrell owned the castle until 1976. ]


View Larger Map

It was by the 15th century when the sea had reached the base of the hill offering a natural defense and had receded, that the deer park was created by the Luttrells. When Sir George Luttrell inherited the castle in 1571 AD, it was dilapidated and unoccupied that in 1617 AD Sir George employed the architect William Arnold to create a new house in the lower part of the castle.

During the English Civil War, Dunster Castle was a royalist stronghold and it came under siege by Parliamentary forces in 1645 AD eventually leading to the surrender of the castle in April 1646 AD. After this time the defenses of the castle were demolished to prevent any further use against Parliament.

The Castle architectural features include a fortress on the site since the Norman period. The gatehouse was from the 15th century and extensive remodeling was carried out in 1868 by Antony Salvin. In the gardens is the National Collection of Strawberry trees. All that remains of the mediaeval fortifications today are the gatehouse and the stumps of two Towers.

There have been many ghostly occurrences in the area of this castle and the castle itself. The shop, originally part of the stable block, is haunted by a man dressed in green. Items in the shop seem to mysteriously tumble and certain items have been spoiled by a sticky brown substance.

It is generally agreed that the most haunted room in the castle is the Leather Gallery. It gained its name due to the leather hangings depicting the story of Antony and Cleopatra. Many have attested to hearing men's voices at night along with doors banging and footsteps and generally speaking no one likes to work there. Apparently, a medium once visited the castle and was of the opinion that one particular ghost which had been seen by a cleaner was that of a royalist soldier called Richard who had met his death in the castle grounds from a puncture wound above his right eye.   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe


© . Linda Mcgill Wagner - began © 1999 Contact Me