Quick Facts
Biography
Sir Alexander Temple (1583–1629) was a landowner and Member of Parliament. He was born at Stowe House in 1583 and knighted in 1603. During his life he held many public offices, including MP for Sussex. He was buried in Rochester Cathedral.
Family
Temple was born at Stowe House, the fourth son of John Temple and Susan (née Spencer) and was baptised on 9 February, 1582/3. He was the brother of Sir Thomas Temple and the brother-in-law of Viscount Saye and Sele.
In 1602 he married Mary Penistone (née Sommer) of Rochester Kent. They had three children:
- John, killed at the Isle of Rhe;
- James Temple, the regicide;
- Susan (or Susanna) Temple who married Sir Gifford Thornhurst of Agney Court, Kent and Sir Martin Lister. Through her first marriage, Susan was grandmother of Sarah Jennings, Duchess of Marlborough.
As a result of this marriage, Temple gained four step children including Sir Thomas Penistone
Temple was knighted at the Tower of London by James I following the King's accession to the English throne - one of many members of the gentry who were knighted during the first years of the King's reign.
Following the death of his first wife, Sir Alexander moved to Chadwell St Mary in Essex.
In the early 1620s, he married Mary Bankworth (who was previously married to John Busbridge), and moved to Haremere Hall in Etchingham, Sussex.
Temple died in 1629 and was buried in Rochester Cathedral.
Public Offices
In 1604, Temple was elected as an assistant warden of the Rochester Bridge Trust. He continued to serve on the court in various roles for the following eleven years. Temple was chosen as the senior warden in 1606 and the junior warden in 1612.
Temple was nominated as MP for Boston in 1621, but lost out to Sir Thomas Cheeke. In 1624, Temple tried to take the Winchelsea parliamentary seat from the control of the Finch family and succeeded in having John Finch's return invalidated. However Temple was defeated in the subsequent by-election.
In 1626, Temple was elected to the 2nd Parliament of King Charles I as MP for Sussex. Temple made six recorded speeches during this parliament. He was also appointed to 39 committees.