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Poets’ Corner
Tucked into the South Transept of Westminster Abbey, Poets’ Corner is where the nation remembers its greatest writers. More than a hundred poets, playwrights and novelists are either buried here or commemorated by a stone, a bust or a stained-glass panel.
How it all began
The tradition began in 1400 with the burial of Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales. He wasn’t buried here because he was a great poet — he was buried here because he had lived and worked in the precinct. Almost two centuries later, in 1599, Edmund Spenser was buried beside him, and the corner’s literary identity was sealed.
Who is buried here
- Geoffrey Chaucer (1400) — the corner’s founding grave.
- Edmund Spenser (1599) — author of The Faerie Queene.
- Dr Samuel Johnson (1784) — compiler of the first great English dictionary.
- Charles Dickens (1870) — buried against his own wishes for a quiet Kentish funeral.
- Rudyard Kipling (1936) and Thomas Hardy’s heart (1928, his ashes are here; his heart in Dorset).
- Laurence Olivier (1989) — the only actor buried in Poets’ Corner.
Who is memorialised here
Many of the greatest names on the walls are not buried in the Abbey at all — they have memorials only. Look out for Shakespeare, Jane Austen, the Brontë sisters, T.S. Eliot, W.H. Auden, Dylan Thomas, Ted Hughes and Philip Larkin. The most recent memorial — unveiled in 2024 — is to the children’s author Beatrix Potter.
Tips for your visit
- Look down as much as up — many of the most famous names are on floor slabs.
- Poets’ Corner is at the far end of your visit route — save 15 minutes to explore it properly.
- Free printed guides at the entrance mark every grave and memorial with a number.