There are conflicting accounts of Byron's last words and final wishes but one of the English doctors in attendance reported him as saying: ‘One request let me make to you. Let not my body be hacked, or be sent to England. Here let my bones moulder. Lay me in the first corner without pomp or nonsense.’ In declaring this preference he may have been thinking of Polidori's unfortunate patient, Lord Guilford, who was shipped back to England from Italy in bits. This is exactly what happened to Byron, except that the Greeks insisted on keeping his lungs. They were anxious to have some memento of a man whose fame throughout Europe had not only added lustre to their cause but would also eventually help to ensure that it was successful. When the rest of Byron's body arrived home, Murray was urged by Hobhouse to enquire about the possibility of burial in Westminster Abbey. Nothing could have been less appropriate, as the Abbey authorities were only too ready to confirm. It was not until the 1960s that objections were overcome and a stone commemorating Byron was laid in ‘that curious mason's yard of sculptural litter’ known as Poets’ Corner.

As an executor of Byron's will, and his loyal friend, Hobhouse took care of the funeral arrangements. For a few days the body was displayed in a room in the centre of London so that those who wished could apply to pay their respects. For both Hobhouse and Augusta, meeting Byron again in this manner was a less distressing process than they anticipated because the corpse they saw was unrecognisable as his. The teeth of which he was so proud had been discoloured by the embalming fluid and there were marks of a hacksaw – or similar instrument – on his forehead. His features had been further distorted by the removal of his brain and eyes. One visitor who may well have found the sight shocking nevertheless was Mary Shelley because, as she had periodically made clear, Byron was always physically attractive to her. It was decided that he should be buried with his ancestors in the church at Hucknall, one of the manors on the Newstead estate (now no longer of course in the Byron family).