Alexander was born at 25 Eccles Street, Dublin, the third child and second daughter of Major John Humphreys of Norfolk (land-agent to 4th Earl of Wicklow and later to the second Marquess of Abercorn), and his wife Elizabeth (née Reed).

Her subsequent religious work was strongly influenced by her contacts with the Oxford Movement, and in particular with John Keble, who edited Hymns for Little Children, one of her anthologies.

Some of her hymns, such as "All Things Bright and Beautiful", "There is a green hill far away" [b] and the Christmas carol "Once in Royal David's City", are known by Christians the world over, as is her rendering of "Saint Patrick's Breastplate".

Money from her first publications had helped build the Derry and Raphoe Diocesan Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, which was founded in Strabane in 1846.

[11][12][13] Archbishop Alexander died in 1911, and in 1913 a stained glass window by James Powell and Sons in her memory was installed in the north vestibule of St Columb's Cathedral in Derry, financed by public subscription.

[14][15] The three lights of the windows refer to three of her hymns and show corresponding scenes: "Once in Royal David's City", "There Is a Green Hill Far Away", and "The Golden Gates Are Lifted Up".

[16] Lukas Media LLC (FishFlix), released the full-length documentary Friends in Jesus DVD, The stories and Hymns of Cecil Frances Alexander and Joseph Scriven in 2011.