Plas Newydd, Llangollen Plas Newydd, Llangollen Plas Newydd (, ; "new hall" or "new mansion") is a historic house in the town of Llangollen, Denbighshire, Wales, and was the home of the Ladies of Llangollen, Lady Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, for nearly 50 years. Today, it is run as a museum by Denbighshire County Council. Plas Newydd is notable as the home where two Irish ladies, Lady Eleanor Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby (the Ladies of Llangollen) eloped and set up house together in the late 18th century, scandalising contemporary British society. Plas Newydd was originally a five-roomed stone cottage, but over
Paris in the 16th century Rabelais (1494-1553) best known for his novel "Gargantua and Pantagruel", which gave the word "Gargantuan" to the English language. He was admired by King Francis I, who protected him while he was alive, but after the King's death Rabelais and his works were condemned by the University of Paris and the Parlement of Paris, and he only survived because of the protection of high figures at court. He spent much of his life far from the city, but died in Paris. The most prominent poet was Pierre de Ronsard (1524-1585), from an aristocratic family of the Vendôme region. He settled