Ancient Faces

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

 

Our subject this week are Lady Eleanor Charlotte Butler and the Honourable Sarah Ponsonby, "The Ladies of Llangollen."

Together, they sailed from Ireland to Milford Haven and then journeyed north, eventually arriving in the Vale of Llangollen, an area they considered to be one of the most beautiful pieces of countryside they had ever seen. Just outside Llangollen they found and, in 1780, bought a small house called Pen-y-Maes and settled down to life together.

They were in the main, unsociable, took no notice of current fashions and wore basic, dark clothing at all times. The people of Llangollen accepted them and called them, simply, "The Ladies."
The exact relationship between the two women will never be known. At the end of the day it hardly matters. They were the greatest of friends and that friendship helped to sustain them through many years of what were, at times, quite gruelling problems.

The Ladies of Llangollen were eventually reconciled with their families but continued to live in north Wales. And the public continued to come. Eleanor died on 2 June 1829 while Sarah, 16 years younger than her friend, lived on, alone at Plas Newydd, until December 1832.