Editing Ladies of Llangollen (section)

==Welsh home==
[[File:Plas Newydd, near Llangollen - the seat of the late Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Ponsonby (1132208).jpg|thumb|Plas Newydd, near Llangollen, 1840]]

Rather than face the possibility of being [[forced marriage|forced into unwanted marriages]], they left [[County Kilkenny]] together in April 1778. Their families found them and forcefully tried to make them give up their plans—but in vain.<ref name=Telegraph>{{cite news |title=Wales: A tale of two ladies ahead of their time |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/wales/724170/Wales-A-tale-of-two-ladies-ahead-of-their-time.html |first=Anne Campbell |last=Dixon |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=4 May 2002 |access-date=9 April 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite ODNB |title=Carryl, Mary (d. 1809), servant and friend of the Ladies of Llangollen |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/display/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-48928 |access-date=2024-06-16 |date=2004 |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/48928}}</ref> Mary died first, and they were all three buried in the same plot with the same grave marker.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Brideoake|first=Fiona|date=2004|title="Extraordinary Female Affection": The Ladies of Llangollen and the Endurance of Queer Community|url=https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/ron/2004-n36-37-ron947/011141ar/|journal=Romanticism on the Net|language=en|issue=36–37|doi=10.7202/011141ar|issn=1467-1255}}</ref>

Putting their plan into motion, they undertook a picturesque tour of the Welsh countryside, eventually settling in North [[Wales]]. Living first in a rented home in the village of [[Llangollen]], they moved in 1780 to a small cottage just outside the village they called [[Plas Newydd (Llangollen)|Plas Newydd]] or "new mansion".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.google.com/maps/search/Llangollen,+United+Kingdom/@52.968835,-3.169148,17z?hl=en&dg=dbrw&newdg=1 |title=Llangollen |website=Google Maps |access-date=29 July 2017}}</ref> They proceeded to live according to their self-devised system, though they could rely on only a modest income from intolerant relatives, and eventually a [[Pensions in the United Kingdom#Civil List pensions|civil list pension]]. They "improved" Plas Newydd in the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic style]] with Welsh oak panelling, pointed arches, stained glass windows, and an extensive library, in which they received their many guests.<ref name=":2" /> They hired a gardener, a [[footman]], and two maids. This led to significant debt, and they had to rely on the generosity of friends.<ref name=Telegraph/>