Ladies of Llangollen Ladies of Llangollen The "Ladies of Llangollen", Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby, were two upper-class Irish women whose relationship during the late 18th and early 19th century scandalized and fascinated their contemporaries. Eleanor Charlotte Butler (11 May 1739 – 2 June 1829) was a member of the Butlers, the Earls (and later Dukes) of Ormond. Butler was considered an over-educated bookworm by her family, who resided at the Butler family seat Kilkenny Castle. She spoke French and was educated in a convent in France. Her mother tried to make her join a convent because she was remaining a spinster. Sarah
The Newcastle Eccentrics of the 19th century size and eccentricity was often a magnet for bullies. Archibald was never married, but once apparently found a young maid who lived on the Quayside and of who he said she was almost as canny a woman as his mother. A compliment indeed. Archibald Henderson died 14 May 1828, aged 86 years. Bold Archy appears in several songs including :- One of the Eccentrics in the painting Captain Benjamin Starkey was an inhabitant of the Freeman's Hospital in Newcastle. He told Thomas Allan that he was unable to remember how or when he took, or was given, the title “Captain”.