Their relationship was a template for centuries of blissful and monogamous same-sex partnerships, writes Philip Harland. Also letters from Monica Kendall and John Sears
Extraordinary individuals who turned a dull turnpike town into a beacon of fashionability, Sarah Ponsonby and Eleanor Butler were superstar celebrities of their time (‘Darling of my heart’: the irresistible love story of the Ladies of Llangollen, 31 January). Symbiotically, both the ladies and their adopted Llangollen grew and flourished, a relationship which my husband and I tried to probe in a short film that we made a few years ago. The ladies became go-to VIPs for local events: they sailed inaugurally across the Pontcysyllte aqueduct in 1805. Their presence in Llangollen attracted numerous “society” stalwarts, followed and emulated in turn by increasing numbers of tourists. Whether it was the sheer quirky nature of two outcast aristocratic women living intimately or a genius grasp of networking that put them and their town on the map is up for debate. What they achieved, however, was fame – even notoriety – and, unintentionally, a template for centuries of blissful and monogamous same-sex partnerships.
It is a curious and fitting postscript to the celebrated ladies and their home that another couple, Charlotte Andrew and Amelia Lolley, occupied Plas Newydd after the deaths of Sarah and Eleanor. Charlotte and Amelia were known by the “original” ladies who, it is said, mocked them unkindly as the Lolleys and the Trolleys. A neglected and overgrown gravestone marking the burial place of Charlotte and Amelia can be found in the lovely burial ground at Llantysilio parish church.
Philip Harland
Waverton, Cheshire
