Dunster's inns

By 1650 at least three men described themselves as innkeeper and in 1657 there were 17, including Robert Cornish who complained to the magistrates that two Bristol merchants had drunk a health to King Charles in his inn in 1656. In 1686 Dunster’s inns had 37 guest beds and stabling for 74 horses and in 1687 there were 22 licensed victuallers in Dunster and one at Alcombe. Some combined innkeeping with another business such as the Wybourne family of victuallers and bakers.

The rise and fall of public houses during the 19th and 20th century reflects the fortunes of Dunster. Among them, some of which remain in existence, were the Luttrell Arms, the George, the Red Lion, the Admiral Vernon, the Three Cups, the Horse and Crooks, the Stag's Head, the New Inn, the Foresters Arms, the Three Pigeons, the Britannia and the Red Lion at Alcombe.