The Ladies of Llangollen were two upper-class women from Ireland whose relationship scandalised and fascinated their contemporaries. Eleanor Charlotte Butler (1739 - 1829) was a member of one of the dynastic families of Ireland, the Butlers, the Earls (and later Dukes) of Ormond. Sarah Ponsonby (1755 - 1831) lived with relatives in Woodstock, County Kilkenny. Their families lived only 3 km (2 mi) from each other. They met in 1768, and quickly became friends. Rather than face the possibility of being forced into unwanted marriages, they left County Kilkenny together in 1778. Their families hunted them down and forcefully tried to make them give up their plans - in vain. They decided to move to England, but ended up in Wales and set up home at Plas Newydd.
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