To celebrate LGBT History Month here in the UK, we’ve asked the wonderful Queer academic Dr. Emily Garside, to create a weekly blog throughout February celebrating the fantastic LGBTQIA+ people and places of Britain.
This week Emily focuses on the Ladies of Llangollen, two iconic historical Queer figures who lived in North Wales and whose home is still a well-loved visitor attraction.
The Ladies of Llangollen
The “Ladies of Llangollen” are probably Wales’ best-known historic queer figures. And after Anne ‘Gentleman Jack’ Lister (who they met), probably the most famous queer woman of their era.
The ladies were two upper-class Irish women, Eleanor Butler (1739–1829) and Sarah Ponsonby (1755–1831), who moved from Ireland to Llangollen, North Wales, in 1780 to live together and escape the pressure to undertake a traditional marriage. They arrived in 1780 at their home, Plas Newydd in North Wales, where their relationship would both fascinate and scandalise.
Growing up, they lived about 15 miles from one another at home in Ireland. They first met in 1768 and became close quickly. They began to develop a dream to live a rural life together somewhere they would be undisturbed. A pressing matter for ladies of their class who would usually be married off to a suitable gentleman when they ‘came of age’, they could circumvent this and get their wish by escaping together.
So, when they were of age, rather than be married to a suitable noble gentleman to further family finances and politics, and indeed to secure their future, they rejected unwanted marriages and left Kilkenny together in April 1778. Their families tried to force them to give up their plans and return, but ultimately, their efforts were in vain.
After leaving home, they rented a cottage, but in 1780, they moved to Plas Newydd (which translates to ‘new mansion’). They worked on the house over the years, installing oak panelling and stained glass to make it into the ‘Gothic’ style, which it remained for much of their time there. They added a dairy and curated an extensive and impressive garden.
They were known for accepting visitors as both friends and curious visitors, receiving them in the extensive library they created. These guests included royalty in the form of Queen Charlotte. The Queen was so enamoured with the ladies that she compelled her husband, King George III, to provide them with a pension. As well as royalty, they received nobility, such as the Duke of Wellington, perhaps silencing the notion that as unconventional and queer women they were entirely shunned.
They also spent time studying language and literature. Many creatives were also among their visitors, compelled by the Ladies’ alternative lifestyle and devotion to literature and learning. These included writers such as Anna Seward, Robert Southey, William Wordsworth, and Percy Shelley. Perhaps the most notable visitor was not Royalty but Lesbian Royalty in the form of Anne Lister. While it isn’t certain, the timelines overlap with Anne’s marriage to her lover (Ann Walker). The Ladies and their chosen lifestyle somewhat inspired her (and potentially her them). For Lister and the ladies, there was no doubt of solidarity in their arrangements.
The Ladies were also known for eccentricity, including their dress. They would wear black riding habits and men’s top hats. However, this was also seen as practical attire for two women who needed to work the land and be outdoors as their lifestyle dictated. Again, we see similarities with Anne Lister, who was known for her ‘masculine’ attire, and perhaps, between them, some forerunners for a particular brand of lesbian fashion.
Despite their eccentricities and not conforming to standard ways of living, their community accepted them and became part of the local community in Llangollen. Eleanor recorded all these elements in her diary, which were also assimilated into the community. Llangollen people referred to them as “the ladies”, and they became part of the community. After settling in, they soon became both a stop-off for visitors between Ireland and London and something of a curiosity for many – which they embraced.
The Ladies lived fifty years together and died within a year of each other: Elenor in 1829, at age 90 and Sarah in 1831, aged 76. They and are buried at St Collen’s Church, Llangollen.
The legacy of the ladies lives on in literature and more, and perhaps inspires some of their literary or creative visitors. During their own time, William Wordsworth wrote a sonnet about them. They were called “To the Lady E.B and the Hon. Miss P”. Anna Seward wrote the poem “Llangollen Vale” in 1796, associating them with “chaste provinciality”. A little later, the ladies appeared in a “thinly veiled biographical novel” called Chase of the Wild Goose by Mary Gordon in 1936. The book was later reprinted and retitled The Llangollen Ladies: The Story of Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby, Known as the Ladies of Llangollen, in a nod to the story’s origins. Up to today, intrigue in their story continues, with a 2022 theatrical production at Theatr Clwyd in their beloved north Wales. The play ‘Celebrated Virgins: The Story of the Ladies of Llangollen’ by Katie Elin Salt introduced their story to new audiences via theatrical telling. And with renewed interest in their friend Anne Lister through the series Gentleman Jack, perhaps the story of the Ladies will get more incarnations in the future…
Their legacy has certainly lived on; their house Plas Newydd is now a museum and popular wedding venue (for mainly queer couples, naturally). The surrounding area continues their legacy with Butler’s Hill, near Plas Newydd and The Ponsonby Arms on Mill Street in Llangollen, both honouring the women, respectively.
Find out more about visiting Plas Newydd here