Battlefields›Dunster Castle Siege in the Anarchy 1138
Medieval

Dunster Castle Siege in the Anarchy 1138

1138
England
Era
Medieval
Battle Type
Pitched Battle
Location
England
Status
Unregistered
The Combatants

Who Fought

Defeated
Stephen Royalist forces
Forces
Stephen Royalist forces
VS
Victor
William de Mohun (Matilda faction)
Forces
Matilda faction under William de Mohun
Outcome
Castle held for Empress Matilda; Stephen fails to take it
The Battle

History & Significance

William de Mohun held Dunster Castle for Empress Matilda throughout the Anarchy from 1138; Stephen was unable to reduce this formidable Somerset stronghold, which served as the principal Matildine base for operations in west Somerset and the Bristol Channel coast.

Questions & Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Protected heritage nearby

Scheduled Monuments near Dunster Castle Siege in the Anarchy 1138

Black Ball Camp: a later prehistoric defended settlement on Gallox Hill
Scheduled monument · ~0.6 miles
Bat's Castle: a small multivallate hillfort and associated outwork
Scheduled monument · ~0.7 miles
Early Christian to medieval settlement and cemetery
Scheduled monument · ~1.2 miles
Later prehistoric defended enclosure, Long Wood
Scheduled monument · ~1.9 miles
Three round barrows on Withycombe Common, 360m north of Fire Tower
Scheduled monument · ~2.2 miles
More from this era

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Submission of Canterbury to William I 1066
1066
Kent, England
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