Two Irishwomen, Lady Eleanor Butler, whose brother was Earl of Ormonde, and Miss Sarah
Ponsonby, a cousin
of the Earl of Bessborough, pioneered a type of lesbian relationship in the eighteenth century.
After becoming
close friends at school they eloped but were brought back in disgrace and forbidden to
communicate with each
other in any way. Eventually, however, their relatives allowed them to live together and even
made provision for
a small allowance. They settled in a cottage in the Vale of Llangollen in North Wales and, in
consequence,
became known as "The Ladies of Llangollen." Sometimes also called "The
Platonists," they became the two most
celebrated virgins in Europe and were visited by a host of famous people, including Sir Walter
Scott and the
Duke of Wellington.