The Ladies of the Vale

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In 2022, their dramatised story was brought to the stage in Theatr Clwyd's production of 'Celebrated Virgins: The Story of the Ladies of Llangollen'. Written by Katie Elin Salt and directed by Eleri B.Jones. [18] This is the reason that Lichfield Cathedral is unique and the only ancient Cathedral in England to have three spires – a fact that has been totally airbrushed from history. The three spires of Lichfield Cathedral have been something of an enigma for centuries in a very similar way to another famous symbol of Staffordshire – the Staffordshire or Stafford Knot."

In sharp contrast to the writings of their contemporary Anne Lister, there is nothing in their extensive correspondence or diaries that indicates a sexual relationship. [5] Some consider Butler's and Ponsonby's relationship to be a Boston marriage, or a romantic relationship between two women who chose to live together and have "marriage-like relationships". [7] Others conclude that the two had a non-sexual romantic friendship. [9] Norena Shopland says that modern attitudes designed to distinguish same-sex relationships from a romantic friendship indicate they had a sexual relationship. [10] According to Fiona Brideoake, the description of queer is more appropriate than the anachronistic [ how?] and specific label of lesbian, particularly as queerness is a broad concept and significantly defined by its difference from typicality. [5] Brideoake writes that their relationship was celebrated by other people as a form of mourning the relationships that they could not form. [5]

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Other cities in the UK without cathedrals include Bath, Hull, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent and Wolverhampton. The idea that city status is connected to having a cathedral appears to have come about in the 1540s when Henry VIII founded new cathedral dioceses in 6 towns and issued each town city status. What is the most famous church in the UK? However, for some reason, their story and their lifestyle caught the public imagination. Soon visitors, unknown and famous, were besieging Plas Newydd. People such as the poets Byron, Wordsworth and Shelley all came to talk and stare, as did the novelist Sir Walter Scott. To begin with, here’s the Romantic poet Anna Seward’s “Llangollen Vale,” composed in 1795 following the Romantic poet’s visit to the celebrated Ladies of Plas Newydd, Sarah Ponsonby and Lady Eleanor Butler. The Ladies and their “Fairy Palace” make their appearance a little more than midway through this 168-line poem, following a stirring if oddly inconclusive account of Glyndwr’s rebellion. The weepy, superstitious monks of Valle Crucis get a look-in toward the end. But, Seward wonders, did any young monastic lip ever wear “gay Eleanora’s smile”? Lichfield Cathedral is the focal point of the city's skyline and can be seen from many miles away on a clear summer day. The three spires on the cathedral are iconic to the city, being one of only three cathedrals in the country to have three spires, alongside Truro Cathedral in Cornwall and St Mary's Cathedral in Edinburgh.

Our all too brief bit about Lichfield Cathedral concludes with the stunning marble sculpture, ‘the Sleeping Children’, by Francis Chantry (1816). It depicts two sisters, Ellen Jane and Marianne Robinson, asleep in each other’s arms. The girls died tragically young and the sculpture was commissioned by their mother – who had also recently lost her husband. Willis-Bund, John William (1905). The Civil War in Worcestershire, 1642–1646; and the Scotch Invasion of 1651. Birmingham: The Midland Educational Company. OCLC 767905615. Escape to the Country - Series 22: Episode 21. BBC iPlayer. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022 . Retrieved 31 January 2023. They devoted their time to hosting a range of friends and curious visitors, extensive correspondence, private studies of literature and languages, and improving their estate. Over the years they added a circular stone dairy and created a sumptuous garden. Eleanor kept a diary of their activities. Llangollen people simply referred to them as "the ladies". [3]There are only three cathedrals in the United Kingdom with three spires. Lichfield Cathedral, dating from the 13th and early 14th centuries is the only medieval cathedral. What are the 3 largest cathedrals in England?