The last Timperley Lord of the Manor
After the death of Thomas Timperley, who was buried at Hintlesham on 27 November 1686, the Lordship passed to his cousin Henry.
It was shortly after this, probably in 1687, that Henry married Susanna Sparrow, daughter of John Sparrow, Clerk-Comptroller of the Board of the Green Cloth to King James II. John was knighted on 3 July 1687. A daughter, Katherine, was born to Henry and Susanna, but did not survive infancy, being buried at Hintlesham on 14 October 1688.
Only a few weeks later, on 23 December, King James fled to France and was replaced by the Protestant King William. Amongst the supporters who followed him into exile were Henry, Susanna and Sir John Sparrow, who became part of the Jacobite Court at St Germain-en-Laye.
Sadly, Henry died, possibly in 1689, with a son, also named Henry, thought to have been born posthumously, probably in 1689. Susanna and her son Henry returned to England on at least one occasion, but in 1700 she remarried. Her new husband was Nicola Matteis, junior, a violinist and composer, as was his more famous father Nicola. Nicola junior was appointed to a musical position in Vienna later in 1700 and his son and daughter from his first marriage joined Nicola and Susanna there in 1701. Nicola died on 23 October 1737 and Susanna on 26 February 1740, aged 73.
But what of young Henry? It would appear that he did not travel to Vienna with his mother and step-father.
By 1705 the guardianship of Henry had passed from his Mother to Henry Eyre, a counsellor at law.
Recognised as Lord of the Manor of Hintlesham in 1710, Henry Timperley married Etheldreda or Audrey Mannock, a daughter of Sir William Mannock of Gifford's Hall, Stoke-by-Nayland, Suffolk, in 1711, but she died sometime before 1 October 1714 leaving no children. Henry sold Hintlesham and his other Suffolk estates in 1720 to Richard Powys, a Principal Clerk of the Treasury.
It would be interesting to discover the final fate of the last Timperley Lord of the Manor. According to tradition, "having wasted most of his estate and being a Roman Catholic [he] went abroad and lived in some convent." The only further information available at present is that, according to his mother's Will, dated 20/12/1738, he was believed to have died in Flanders, with no known descendants.
Sources:
Jones, Simon. The legacy of the 'stupendious' Nicola Matteis. Early music, November 2001.
Ryan, Gerald H. and Redstone, Lilian J. Timperley of Hintlesham : a study of a Suffolk family. London : Methuen, [1931].
