Which British poet is considered the first to be buried in Poets' Corner, Westminster Abbey?

Geoffrey Chaucer is generally considered the first poet buried in Poets' Corner at Westminster Abbey. He was interred there in 1400, establishing the association between the Abbey's south transept and Britain's celebrated poets, playwrights, and writers.

Chaucer's original burial was probably connected as much to his position as Clerk of Works at the Palace of Westminster as to his literary fame. His reputation grew substantially after his death, especially through The Canterbury Tales. In 1556, Nicholas Brigham arranged for Chaucer's remains to be moved to a more prominent tomb, helping make the site a destination for literary remembrance.

Edmund Spenser's burial nearby in 1599 strengthened the area's poetic identity. Over time, Poets' Corner became a place both for burial and for monuments or memorials. Some writers are commemorated there even though they are buried elsewhere: William Shakespeare, for example, was buried in Stratford-upon-Avon but received a Westminster Abbey monument in 1740.

A common mistake is to assume Shakespeare was the first poet honoured there because his monument is famous. He was not. Chaucer's 1400 interment came more than two centuries earlier and is the traditional starting point for Poets' Corner.