Born in 1583 into the upwardly mobile Temple family of Stowe in Buckinghamshire, Sir Alexander Temple was a member of the landed gentry during the reigns of James I and Charles I.  Some evidence for a period at Oxford can be derived from a bookplate recording a gift made by Sir Alexander to the Library of New College, Oxford. The book plate reads ‘Alexander Tempellus dono dedit’ (given by Alexander Temple), although the wording on the plate is partially obscured by a later library plate. The plate is printed and the words were presumably chosen by Sir Alexander himself, although it is possible it was the work of the New College librarian.

Bookplate in William Camden, Britannia (1600)
New College Library, Oxford, BT3.193.6

New College Library and Archives, Oxford