Quick Facts
Biography
Sir Peter Temple, 2nd Baronet (1592–1653) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1653. He was a Parliamentarian in the English Civil War.
Family
Temple was the son of Sir Thomas Temple, 1st Baronet, of Stowe and his wife Hester Sandys, daughter of Miles Sandys.
Temple married firstly Ann Throgmorton, daughter of Sir Arthur Throgmorton of Palesbury Northamptonshire and had two daughters. He married secondly Christian Leveson daughter of Sir John Leveson, and their son Richard Temple succeeded to the baronetcy.
Public offices
In 1634, he served as High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire and was consequently responsible for collecting the controversial ship money in Buckinghamshire.
In April 1640, Temple was elected Member of Parliament for Buckingham in the Short Parliament. He was also elected for Buckingham in November 1640 to the Long Parliament. He was knighted in 1641 but took the side of the Parliamentarians and fought for them in the Civil War. He was nominated to serve as a judge on the court that tried Charles I, but never attended any sessions.
Relationship with father
Sir Peter was accused by his father of "wasting money in gambling, drinking, and other extravagances". He believed that his father favoured his younger brother, John, over him. In the 1620s, when his father was planning to sell some land in order to reduce his debts, Sir Peter went to the Court of Chancery to prevent the sale. Eventually, the legal case between father and son was settled by an arbitrator. Sir Thomas was allowed to sell the land, but he had to make a payment to Sir Peter.
Portrait
There was a portrait of Sir Peter Temple by Cornelis Janssens van Ceulen which was in the Temple family home at Stowe until the Stowe contents were sold in an extended sale in 1848. This portrait was bought by a Frank K Lenthall, Esq. It was sold by Sotheby’s in 1998 with a provenance of "by descent from Lenthall". It was relined from panel to canvas while owned by the Lenthalls. The portrait has now been returned to Stowe and is on display in the Blue Room.