For this Pride Month's blog we'd like to highlight something from the archive; a letter from Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby, otherwise known as the Ladies of Llangollen.
Raised in Ireland and born into elite families, they would have been expected to marry men from similar backgrounds. However, after a first failed attempt in 1778, the two ladies successfully eloped together to Wales where they settled in a cottage in Llangollen, escaping the lives that had been expected of them.1 Here they formed, as Elizabeth Mavor in The Ladies of Llangollen puts it, “what we in modern terms would consider a marriage”.2 In the town they carved out what they had wanted, a quiet life where they were left to enjoy each other's company.3 This isn't to say they didn't have visitors as many famous names of the day sought out the ladies at their home, Plas Newydd: Queen Charlotte, William Wordsworth, Anne Lister (who Chris Roulston dubbed ‘the UK’s first modern lesbian’4), a young Charles Darwin with his father, and more.5 
The Ladies of Llangollen. A Wikimedia Commons image.
They became minor celebrities in their day for the way they lived; they and others viewed their relationship as a romantic friendship.6 There was also speculation to whether there was more to their relationship than friendship.7 Intense female friendships were not unheard of at the time but the fact they were from elite families and chose not to marry but to run away to live together was unusual.8 ‘Beloved’ was their common epithet for each other and their letters were coded and loving.9 Contemporaries who did not believe the relationship went further than friendship did view their lifestyle as romantic, leaving behind comfortable lives to live in seclusion together in a beautiful location. This was romantic in the sense of mystery rather than necessarily romantic love.10 The Lesbian History Sourcebook [U 46/78] posits that they stand at "some sort of pinnacle of women's partnerships", having lived together for half a century when this was very much not the norm.11
In the Glynne-Gladstone Archive we hold a letter from Lady Eleanor Butler to Lady Mary Glynne.12 The Glynnes lived in Hawarden Castle until William Gladstone moved in with the last Glynne Baronet; they were a well-respected family. There is a polite familiarity in the letter. Though Butler turns down a ‘very flattering invitation’ to a meeting, she does request ‘at some quieter time, to have the honour and happiness of paying our respects at Hawarden Castle’. They send attached a recipe for Ginger Beer which Lady Glynne had requested (we haven't found this yet, but we hope to!). 
Pictured: a mention of ginger beer.
They also ask for Lady Glynne to pass on their regards to a Miss Neville, a family member of hers who had visited the Ladies. The letter, while officially from Eleanor Butler, is seemingly from both ladies as 'we' is used frequently, and the sign off includes ‘Miss Ponsonby's particular regards’. This collective wording was not unusual for them, many of their possessions were marked with both of their initials.13 
Pictured: Lady Eleanor Butler's signature.
Perhaps one of the most notable but least visible qualities of the letter is its normality; if one had no context for how different these women were from general society then this letter would probably be easily dismissed. However, the context makes this source significant, offering an insight into the ordinary lives of people who did not conform to gender or sexual norms.
We can speculate as to the nature of their relationship and other romantic friendships; but while there are many interpretations, from modern readers and their contemporaries, it is impossible to say definitively what their sexual identities were. However, it is clear that the documented lives of the Ladies of Llangollen hold value for historians and readers, whether they are interested in romantic friendship or queer lives.
If you’d like to read more, we have several books on Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby specifically, as well as on sexuality and gender studies.
Footnotes
1. Hannah Griffiths, "The Ladies Of Llangollen", The National Archives Blog, 2022 <https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/the-ladies-of-llangollen/>
2. Elizabeth Mavor, The Ladies Of Llangollen: a study in romantic friendship (London: Michael Joseph, 1971), p10
3. Mavor, The Ladies Of Llangollen, p57
4. Chris Roulston, "The Revolting Anne Lister: The U.K.'s First Modern Lesbian", Journal Of Lesbian Studies, 17.3-4 (2013), 267-278 <https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2013.731866>
5. Mavor, The Ladies Of Llangollen, p9; The Ladies of Llangollen - The National Archives blog
6. Mavor, The Ladies Of Llangollen, p99
7. "The Ladies Of Llangollen", The British Museum, <https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/desire-love-and-identity/ladies-llangollen>
8. Alison Oram and Annmarie Turnbull, The Lesbian History Sourcebook (London: Routledge, 2001), p51
9. Mavor, The Ladies Of Llangollen, p102 & 105
10. Ibid. p10
11. Oram and Turnbull, The Lesbian History Sourcebook, p53
12. GG/18/16
13. Mavor, The Ladies Of Llangollen, p102 & 157
Bibliography
Butler, E., (n.d.), ‘Letter from Eleanor Butler to Lady Glynne’, GG 18/16, Glynne-Gladstone Archive, Gladstone's Library, Hawarden.
Hicklin, John, The ‘Ladies Of Llangollen,’ As Sketched By Many Hands; With Notices Of Other Objects Of Interest In ‘That Sweetest Of Vales’ (Chester, 1847), bound in Pamphlets Archaeological XXXVIII, item 8 [HCC 38]
Mavor, Elizabeth, The Ladies Of Llangollen: a study in romantic friendship (London: Michael Joseph, 1971) [U 44/Bu 1]
Oram, Alison, and Annmarie Turnbull, The Lesbian History Sourcebook : love and sex between women in Britain from 1780 to 1970 (London: Routledge, 2001) [U 46/78]
‘Plas Newydd & The Ladies Of Llangollen’, Llangollen.Org.Uk <https://www.llangollen.org.uk/index.php/things-to-do/attractions/item/61-plas-newydd-the-ladies-of-llangollen?msclkid=f312239cb9aa11ecaa1a38e4401f920f> [Accessed 20 April 2022]
‘The Ladies Of Llangollen’, The British Museum <https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/desire-love-and-identity/ladies-llangollen> [Accessed 20 April 2022]
‘The Ladies Of Llangollen’, Women's History Network, 2010 <https://womenshistorynetwork.org/the-ladies-of-llangollen/> [Accessed 20 April 2022]
Griffiths, Hannah, ‘The Ladies Of Llangollen’, The National Archives Blog, 2022 <https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/the-ladies-of-llangollen/> [Accessed 20 April 2022]
Roulston, Chris, ‘The Revolting Anne Lister: The U.K.'S First Modern Lesbian’, Journal Of Lesbian Studies, 17 (2013), 267-278 <https://doi.org/10.1080/10894160.2013.731866>