St Margaret's Churchyard lies to the west of the church, between Parliament Square and the path running parallel to the Abbey. All visible traces of the many hundreds of graves which the churchyard contains were lost when it was grassed over in 1881. As mentioned earlier, William Caxton, Wenceslas Hollar and James Rumsey were among those buried in the churchyard.

The remains of a number of followers of Oliver Cromwell, originally buried in Westminster Abbey, were removed in the sevententh century and reburied in St Margaret’s Churchyard. A tablet near to the west door of the church on the exterior was erected by the Cromwell Association in their memory.

Field of Remembrance

Since 1928 the churchyard has been the setting every November for the Field of Remembrance organised by the Royal British Legion Poppy Factory. The churchyard is divided into plots which are assigned to the military and civilian services. Relatives and old comrades are able to remember those who died in war by planting a poppy cross in the appropriate plot.