In 1654 a treaty between Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell of England and King John IV of Portugal (signed on his behalf by João Rodrigues de Sá e Menezes, Count of Penaguião) allowed English residents in Portugal to "profess their own Religion in private houses... and that finally a Place be allowed for them to bury their dead".

[3] Notable burials in the cemetery include the tombs of the writer Henry Fielding, of hymn-writer Philip Doddridge, of merchant David de Pury, astronomer Carl Ludwig Christian Rümker, Field Marshal of the Portuguese land army Christian August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont[4] and diplomat Thomas Barclay.

Count Miklós Horthy, a Calvinist former Vice Admiral in the Austro-Hungarian Navy and Regent of Hungary, died in exile in Portugal and was buried in the cemetery, along with his wife and son.

[6] Anglicans in Portugal petitioned for permission to build a church, but until the early 19th century the Portuguese Inquisition prevailed on the monarch not to grant it.

When the existing church was designed, traditional choir stalls were included in front of the Sanctuary and Henry Fincham of London built and installed a two-manual pipe organ for £526.