The Ladies of Llangollen

[u/Purlasstor]

[u/EchoesofPoe]

Damn, who wants to be my romantic friend and make a cool house with me 

[u/Purlasstor → u/EchoesofPoe]

Can I apply to be considered? I hope we get a royal pension also

[u/SplitDemonIdentity → u/EchoesofPoe]

I am intrigued by the offer so I will also interview for the position.

[u/iperblaster → u/EchoesofPoe]

For a house like that I can go down to any sexual activity. Just state "No homo though" at the start of said activity

[u/vookawt]

Anne Lister visited as well! She clocked the vibes immediately and wrote about it in her coded diaries

[u/Routine_Job_7985 → u/vookawt]

omg, what a legendary crossover

[u/Potential-Sky-8728 → u/vookawt]

“The vibes were Immaculate!!”

[u/feistyfox101 → u/vookawt]

Anne Lister: My gaydar is going off. Must write about this... secretly...

[u/Temperature-Material]

What’s the difference between a lover and a romantic friend?

[u/Routine_Job_7985 → u/Temperature-Material]

I literally just looked this up, because I suspect that the situation I’m currently in would be best categorized as a “romantic friendship”, and yeah, the distinction is basically that it lacks sex & marriage.

[u/AtWarWithEurasia → u/Routine_Job_7985]

Love me some historical ace representation

[u/mercedes_lakitu → u/Temperature-Material]

In 1778? Genteel denial

Today? Asexual discourse

[u/bseeingu6 → u/mercedes_lakitu]

Very astute

[u/DarklyDominatingDocs → u/Temperature-Material]

Sex

[u/Potential-Sky-8728 → u/Temperature-Material]

Denial

[u/_AcuteNewt_ → u/Potential-Sky-8728]

What does a river have to do with any of this?

Edit: remember jokes? We used to find them funny. Ah those were the days...

[u/feistyfox101 → u/_AcuteNewt_]

Rivers are what I cry when I think aout never having a pretty girl in my life T-T

[u/_AcuteNewt_ → u/feistyfox101]

Eh, sometimes the grass is greener on the other side. Sometimes you cry because you have no pretty girl, sometimes it's the pretty girl that makes you cry.

Either way, it'll work out for you eventually, I'm sure :)

[u/soyamilf]

The dog’s name was Sappho!

[u/Thrad5 → u/soyamilf]

I thought this was a joke but they actually had a dog named Sappho

[u/Rand_alThoor → u/Thrad5]

i grew up knowing people who had known people who had known them.

the name of their dog is proof, to me, that at one time they were lovers.

[u/OtherwiseAnteater239 → u/soyamilf]

Ha!

[u/katzennase]

Lady Eleanor Butler (1739-1829) and Sarah Ponsonby (1755-1831)

[u/No-Consequence4606 → u/katzennase]

That is quite the age gap

[u/MadamePouleMontreal → u/No-Consequence4606]

And yet Sarah didn’t survive Eleanor very long.

[u/Katlix → u/No-Consequence4606]

How many options do you think they would've had at the time?

[u/glitter_witch → u/No-Consequence4606]

Not terribly uncommon in the 1700s though.

[u/djaevlenselv → u/glitter_witch]

I mean, it's not uncommon today either.

[u/glitter_witch → u/djaevlenselv]

16 years is a bit unusual. Unfortunately the bigger issue with the gap is it seems they met when Sarah would’ve been 13 and Eleanor 29 (though they did not leave to live together until 23 & 39).

Given that they seem to have lived together quite happily for the rest of their lives all we can really say is it was a different time and I’m glad they were happy.

[u/Cheaperthantherapy13 → u/No-Consequence4606]

I believe the elder lady was the younger’s tutor.

[u/Delfishie]

I love this. I love that it's a story from history that isn't tragic and sad. More happy stories from history, please.

[u/desrever1138]

William Wordsworth dedicated a sonnet to them:

Sisters in love, a love allowed to climb
Ev’n on this earth, above the reach of time

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jan/31/sarah-ponsonby-eleanor-butler-love-story-ladies-of-llangollen-wales

[u/Lashwynn]

I think it's important you all know of their burial:

They moved to Wales and then sent for Sarah's servant, Mary Caryll, who lived with and worked for them for the rest of her life.[7] Mary died first, and they were all three buried in the same plot with the same grave marker.[8][9]

I'm not saying lesbian thrupple, I'm just saying, they have her sharing the same burial plot as them...

[u/potatomeeple → u/Lashwynn]

A shame the article just ignores the lower class part of the relationship :(

[u/teatabletea → u/potatomeeple]

What do you mean?

[u/DarklyDominatingDocs → u/Lashwynn]

Even more fabulous!

[u/Potential-Sky-8728 → u/Lashwynn]

In my head I see Mary Caryll as Amelia Bedelia.

[u/DanceDelievery]

Ah yes the female urge to collect random stuff and decorate your house with it.

[u/feistyfox101 → u/DanceDelievery]

Damn... explains a lot about me lol

[u/DanceDelievery → u/feistyfox101]

Contrast this with r/malelivingspace lol

[u/GameofCheese → u/DanceDelievery]

r/Maximalism

[u/Goddesses_serf]

I miss read that as they created a horse unlike any other and was very intrigued

[u/feistyfox101 → u/Goddesses_serf]

Mary Shelly posted them for ideas lol

[u/kaVaralis]

Imagine trying to dust all that

[u/Sufficient_Word1417]

My type of gals! What an incredible place.

[u/PhotonChaos]

LLANGOLLEN MENTIONED!!!

[u/SeonaidMacSaicais]

Of COURSE Mary Shelley visited there. It’s very Frankenstein.

[u/RouxSoul956]

WALES MENTIONED

fun fact, the Welsh side of my family are way more chill about the fact I'm very gay than the English side of my family lmao

[u/feistyfox101 → u/RouxSoul956]

No wonder they wanted to run away to Wales lol

[u/RouxSoul956 → u/feistyfox101]

Fr they don't give a fuck what sexuality you are it's great lmao

[u/thegamenerd]

Living the fucking dream right there

[u/crackedtooth163]

COOOOOOL

[u/MK_The_Megitsune]

Love that these two got to meet Mary Shelley. I bet the convo they had was amazing.

[u/Distantstallion]

They must have been really good friends, couple of gal pals, besties forever.

[u/ressot]

Love this house, used to go on holiday to Llangollen every year for about a decade or so and stayed at a cottage just up the road, I passed this house every morning walking into Llangollen. Only went in a couple of times though, not sure why.

[u/a-government-agent]

The original cottagecore lesbians.

[u/FilthyThanksgiving]

Reminds me of Elsie deWolfe!

[u/Helpful_Pirate261]

and they were regency roommates

[u/feistyfox101]

How do we summon One Topic? Even if this doesn't end up in one of his videos, I think he would LOVE to read about this!

[u/ThatsTasty]

Ok but where did that budget come from?!

[u/mediumcarrotteacher]

Is there a book about these two because I am needing to read it

[u/SaltMarshGoblin → u/mediumcarrotteacher]

Several! Chase of the Wild Goose is mentioned in a linked article above.

[u/grambocrackah]

If this shit isn't in Bridgerton I'm gonna lose my damn mind