The Ladies of Llangollen

On the outskirts of the small town of Llangollen in North Wales is Plas Newydd, which was home to the Ladies of Llangollen for 50 years. Lady Eleanor Charlotte Butler and Sarah Ponsonby were Irish aristrcocrats who in the late 1880s fled their homeland for Wales rather than be married off to suitable privileged men.

Needless to say their departure was scandalous. Despite not following the norms of the upper crust the two received numerous visitors throughout the years who were intrigued by the pair. Writers William Wordsworth, Percy Shelley, Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott are among those who walked through the diminutive doorways of the cottage they redesigned in Gothic style.

Today Plas Newydd is a museum reached by a short walk up a hill from Llangollen.