In 1918 Sir Thomas Acland granted to the National Trust a 500-year lease of a large part of the Holnicote Estate, including Dunkery Hill. Dunkery Hill was put up for sale in 1928. Labour Party activist and Member of Parliament Margaret Bondfield asked in the House of Commons if the government was willing to have it designated an ancient monument, to preserve it for future generations. She received the reply that although the government was agreeable to having the hill listed there were no funds available for its purchase; the beacon and surrounding mounds were subsequently designated an ancient monument. The beacon itself, and of surrounding land, was donated in 1932 by Colonel W.W. Wiggin. A further of nearby land was donated in 1934 by Mrs Hughes in memory of her husband Alan Hughes of Lynch Allerford, Minehead. The donations were commemorated in 1935 with an event when a plaque was attached to the summit memorial cairn. Further parts of the Holnicote Estate, which includes other land donated by the Acland family and others, was given in subsequent years.