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EB & SP

Related Images

  • Fig. 1: The plates featuring the monogram of Ladies of Llangollen . [British Museum,1887, 0307, VIII.34](https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/image/1613563163)
  • Fig. 3: A photograph of [Sarah Ponsonby](https://www.historyireland.com/the-irish-ladies-of-llangollen-the-two-most-celebrated-virgins-in-europe/) (now lost)
  • Fig. 2: Pen and ink drawing of Lady Eleanor Butler (1739–1828), sketched c. 1765. [National Library of Wales](https://www.historyireland.com/the-irish-ladies-of-llangollen-the-two-most-celebrated-virgins-in-europe/)

This pattern is formed by the overlapping abbreviations EB and SP, which respectively represent the owners of this chocolate-cup set, Lady Eleanor Charlotte Butler and Miss Sarah Ponsonby (fig.1). These overlapping initials not only reflect that these ladies were the co-owners of the plates, but also indicate their intimate relationship.

Lady Eleanor Butler was a masculine and satirical person who had studied in France, while Miss Sarah Ponsonby was a sensitive and melancholic girl who had been sent to her father’s cousin’s home after her parents died when she was thirteen years old. Both ladies were from the upper classes (fig. 2-3).

They met for the first time when Eleanor Butler came back to Kilkenny in 1768 for her brother’s wedding. In the same year, Eleanor’s mother asked her to help keep an eye on Sarah Ponsonby, who was studying in Miss Parker's boarding school. The two ladies, despite their very different personalities and a sixteen-year age gap, soon got along well with each other. They both aspired to a simple life of retirement together. After learning that their ideal way of living was not supported by their families, they decided to escape.

Their escape did not go smoothly. Their families thought of ways to stop them, but they were determined to stay together. Finally, they were let go, after which they moved to a small town in Wales named Llangollen to start their new story.