Sir John Poultney or de Pulteney, Lord Mayor in 1330, 1331, 1333 and 1336, founded Corpus Christi College in the parish of St Lawrence and his name was given to the church. The chapel of Corpus Christi probably stood to the north of St Laurence in Candlewick Street by 1392. A lane has been known to exist here since the mid C13th, later called Laurence Pountney Lane after the church. According to John Stow, in 1370 the churchyard was used as the place where Flemish weavers were to gather for the purposes of hiring, whereas weavers of Brabant were to gather for the same purpose in the churchyard of St Mary Somerset (q.v.). The reason for this separation was due to disputes among the weavers. The church and college were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 and not rebuilt, the parish then united with that of St Mary Abchurch (q.v.). A plaque on site recalls this as the site of the church and College.
The former burial ground consists of two raised garden areas divided by a sunken pedestrian passageway to Martin Lane, the area on the north being the former site of the church. Both gardens have trees, shrubs and a number of tombs and are bounded by railings over a wall, which date from c.1780. Sir John Poultney's house had been on the west of Laurence Pountney Hill. A number of fine late C17th and early C18th houses survive in this area, including No. 7a Laurence Pountney Lane facing the former churchyard, built c1670 and the offices of the architectural practice of Edward I'Anson from 1851. L'Anson, who later moved to 6 Laurence Pountney Hill, was the architect of the doorway into the churchyard of 1860, and also carried out works to St Mary Abchurch. Restoration works were undertaken in the south ground in 2003 as a private residential garden of adjoining property.