The story of Lady Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, known as the Ladies of Llangollen, is a love story that continues to pull on heartstrings long after their passing. 

If you ever have the chance to visit the Welsh mountains, you will find a cottage in the Village of Llangollen that stands as a landmark of these women’s everlasting love. The ladies renamed the romantic retreat as Plas Newyold, which means ‘new hall’. 

In this beautiful farmhouse, which welcomes queer and not-so-queer visitors alike, Eleanor and Sarah created a home to escape from a world where women were suppressed and same-sex love was persecuted.

But who were these remarkable ladies, and why is their story so unique? 

With a 17-year age gap between them, fate brought them together when Eleanor was assigned as Sarah’s mentor because of family interests and aristocratic reasons. 

At 29 years old, Lady Eleanor Butler returned to Ireland after living in France. By this age, she was under pressure to get married. Although the Butler family was very wealthy, they had begun to lose properties and goods due to the imposition of Penal Laws against Catholics. 

Despite her family’s desperate attempts to find her a husband, Eleanor kept defying the conventions of her century. The scandal grew when her bond with Sarah deepened, and rumours began to spread.  

Despite both families’ efforts to separate them, the two women continued to exchange letters and, eventually, after having known each other for 10 years, they drew up a plan to escape Ireland by boat to Wales.

Their first attempt failed, although it initially seemed brilliant. The lovers decided to meet late at night, dressed in men’s clothes, and run away. Nothing was unintentional; two women alone in the middle of the night would’ve been very suspicious, while two men going on a stroll in the dark could’ve been interpreted as a daily gentleman’s routine.

Sadly, the bad weather forced them to seek shelter in a barn, where Sarah’s aunt Lady Betty and Eleanor’s brother’s posse found them. 

But they never gave up. Their next escape involved Eleanor hiding in the wardrobe in Sarah’s bedchambers, but was found again. 

At this point, both families had given up hope of keeping the two women apart and decided to send them abroad, far from their familiar circles.

After a long journey, the couple settled in what would become their sanctuary – somewhere they could pursue a life together.

Starting from scratch, Eleanor and Sarah created a place of beauty at their cottage in the Village of Llangollen. They had a garden where they grew many vegetables and ended up having more than 40 varieties of roses.

Their relationship attracted sincere admiration, especially during an era when romantic ideals were a popular literary theme. Their unconventional relationship and lifestyle even caught the attention of the press, who nicknamed them “hermitresses” because they dressed in top hats and black riding habits. 

Among their notable visitors were writer Sir Walter Scott, potter Josiah Wedgwood, and poet William Wordsworth, who wrote a poem about them. Ironically, despite their love for literature, the Ladies of Llangollen were not particularly fond of it.

Every year, the couple received many gifts from admirers. However, the ladies only accepted oak furniture, which they broke down to use as decorations and ornaments for the house. As a result, their cottage became a unique space adorned with wooden carvings from chairs, bed heads, and pew ends, filling every corner.

Eleanor’s diaries, discovered after her death, allowed historians to have an insight into the ladies’ lives and are a piece of the living memory of what used to happen inside the cottage: “A day of peace and delight,” and “breakfast together,” were some of the simple pleasures of how the Ladies of Llangollen spent the rest of their days. 

Today, their gravestones—placed side by side, next to the tomb of their maidservant, Mary Carryl, the only person who supported them unwaveringly—stand as powerful symbols of feminism and LGBTQ+ rights.

Their story paved the way for many women who came after them, and still today, remains an inspiration. The Ladies of Llangollen embodied the enduring power of love, defying conventional barriers and social status to create a life that was uniquely their own.