Ladies of Llangollen

The Ladies of Llangollen were two upper-class women whose relationship scandalised and fascinated their contemporaries. Lady Eleanor Butler (1739-1829) and the Honourable Sarah Ponsonby (1755-1831) met in Ireland. Rather than face the possibility of being forced into marriage, they ran away together to Wales, and set up home in the town of Llangollen in 1780. Their house, Plas Newydd, became a haven for all manner of visitors, mostly artists such as the poets Wordsworth and Shelley, Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott. The Ladies were known throughout Britain, but in fact led a rather unexciting life.