Hare family
Another interesting connection of the Timperley's was the Hare family, the link being through Audrey Hare who married Thomas Timperley (c.1524-1594), sometime before 1557. She was a daughter of Sir Nicholas Hare of Bruisyard, Suffolk (d.1557) and his wife Katherine Bassingborne. He was M.P. for Downton, Wiltshire in 1529 and Speaker of the House of Commons in 1539, eventually becoming Master of the Rolls (1553-1557). He had three sisters who were married to M.P.s.

Audrey had three brothers and a sister Anne, who married Thomas Rouse.
Her eldest brother Michael was married twice, firstly to Elizabeth Hubberd and secondly to Mary Brudenell, but when he died in 1611, he had no surviving children. The other brothers Robert and William also had no children, Robert, an antiquary, dying later in 1611. Bruisyard Hall passed to the Rouse family, a descendant of whom it is still owned by. It is now available for let, as holiday accommodation. There were other further notable members of the Hare family, with descendants still living, originating from Sir Nicholas' brother John Hare of Stow Bardolph
Click here for provisional family tree

Shakespeare and the Timperleys
The possibility of a link between William Shakespeare and the Timperley family emerged some time ago, but is now being researched more fully.
This research has brought to light some other likely connections with prominent persons.
The line of research is through the grandmother of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, Katherine, first wife of John Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk. She seems to have been the daughter of William, Lord Moleyns, who was buried at Stoke Poges in 1425 and his wife Margery Whalesborough.

Elizabeth Whalesborough, probably a niece of Margery, married John Hampden of Great Hampden, Buckinghamshire (d. 1450), who was Sheriff of Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire in 1450. A daughter of theirs, Eleanor Hampden, married Walter Arden of Park Hall (d. 1502).

Shakespeare’s descent from the Arden family
What is known is that William Shakespeare’s grandfather, Robert Arden was the son of Thomas Arden of Wilmcote, and Robert, along with his Father and others, received lands in Snitterfield, in 1501. There is no known mention of a Thomas Arden of Wilmcote prior to this date. The next logical step would be to search for any earlier references to Ardens in this area and some do exist. In 1460-1461, a Robert Arderne was mentioned as a recent farmer of the demesne land in Snitterfield, in the account of the bailiff, John Buxston. (Records held in the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Records Office). Robert also served on coroner’s juries in 1443-1444, and he and his wife joined the Gild of Stratford in 1440-1441. Previous to this, he was bailiff of the Earl of Warwick’s manor in Snitterfield in 1438-1439. Since he is the only Arden known to have lived near Stratford in the 15th century, the weight of evidence is strongly in favour of his being an ancestor of Thomas Arden of Wilmcote. This would discount the theory that Thomas Arden of Wilmcote was a son of Walter Arden of Park Hall (d. 1502). There is every likelihood that Thomas was related in some way to the well known family of Park Hall, but probably descended from a younger son at an earlier date. My conclusion therefore is that the Timperleys were related to the Ardens of Park Hall who were descended from Walter (d. 1502), but not to William Shakespeare.

Points arising
There are a number of interesting points here for further research. I already have some more details from the Cornish Studies Library at Redruth, Cornwall about the Whalesboroughs, who came from Cornwall and also from the John Hampden Society. I am assured by the Vice- Chairman of the Society that John Hampden (d. 1450) and Elizabeth Whalesborough, were direct ancestors of the famous parliamentarian John Hampden (1594-1643), who led the revolt against the imposition of Ship Money by King Charles I.

The Whalesboroughs were a prominent Cornish family in the 14th and 15th centuries, but when Thomas Whalesborough died in the late 15th century, his lands passed to his daughter Elizabeth and her husband John Trevelyan. They were almost certainly ancestors of the famous historian G. M. Trevelyan (1876-1962).

There is a good deal of research still required and I hope to contact a local historian in Stoke Poges, to seek further information about the Moleyns family.

Memorials to Walter and Eleanor Arden
At one time there were three memorials to Walter Arden of Park Hall (d. 5 August 1502) and his wife Eleanor in the Church of St. Peter and Paul, Aston, near Birmingham, and two of these were engraved in “The antiquities of Warwickshire illustrated / by William Dugdale. 1656.” These were as follows- a brass in the middle of the chancel floor and an “altar-tomb” with effigies (later moved to the North wall of the chancel) The third memorial was a stained glass window, described by Dugdale but no longer in existence. I am not certain whether the first two memorials still survive. The altar-tomb bore a number of shields with various coats of arms, the second shield in the upper row having the arms of Walter Arden impaled with those of his wife. The description of Eleanor’s arms being- Argent a saltier Gules between four eagles displayed Azure, for Hampden, impaled with- Argent three bends within a bordure Sable bezantee, for Whalesborough.

Markham and Harington families
According to Ryan and Redstone in Timperley of Hintlesham (1931), Nicholas Timperley (c.1564-1624) married Anne Markham, only daughter of William Markham and Elizabeth Montagu, and refers to the book History of the Markhams of Northamptonshire by Christopher A. Markham (1890). This certainly mentions Anne, but states that she married Michael Timperley of Hintlesham and had no children. This information would seem to be less reliable than that included in the book dealing with the Timperleys, which is altogether more scholarly in approach. A further source which confirms this information is Markham memorials by Sir Clements Markham (1913), which was a new edition of A history of the Markham family by the Rev. David F. Markham (1854). This states that William Markham left an only daughter, Anne, who married Nicholas Timperley.

Another useful source is The House of Commons, 1509-1558 edited by S.T. Bindoff (1982). This includes fully referenced biographies of several members of the Markham family, including William. At the end of his entry it is stated that Anne later married Nicholas Timperley of Hintlesham but "died without heirs." There is no reference to support this fact.

Future research will attempt to provide additional proof of the family history as described by Ryan and Redstone.

William Markham's sister, Isabella, married John Harington sometime between 1555 and 1560. Isabella was a lady-in-waiting of Queen Elizabeth and was Harington's second wife. In 1561, their son John was born and the Queen became the child's godmother.
The younger John, (later Sir John), (1561-1612) became a poet and writer and was the inventor of the water closet. More details about his life can be found in The Harington family / Ian Grimble. London : Jonathan Cape, 1957.

Another area of research has centred around William Markham's mother, Anne.
According to Christopher Markham, she was the only daughter and heir of Sir Richard Stanhope. This is at variance with otherauthorities, namely, The House of Commons, 1509-1558 edited by S.T. Bindoff (1982) and the Missing persons volume of the Dictionary of national biography (1993), which state that she was the widow of Richard Stanhope of Rampton, Nottinghamshire. Markham memorials also confirms this. He was probably the same individual as Richard Stanhope, late of Hoghton, esquire, who died before 25 May 1527. (Probate Act Book, Exchequer Court of York)
She was the daughter and co-heir of Sir John Strelley of Strelley, Nottinghamshire and became the 3rd wife of Sir John Markham (by 1486-1559) of Cotham, Nottinghamshire. They had 2 sons, Thomas and William and 3 daughters, including Isabella.

Playters family
Elizabeth Timperley, a daughter of Thomas Timperley (c1524-1594), married William Playters of Sotterley Hall, Suffolk, according to Ryan and Redstone. Recent information from Mr. Ormonde Plater, corresponds with this adding further details as follows-
William Playters (1517-1584) married Elizabeth Timperley c.1564 as the second of his four wives. They had one child, Sir Thomas Playters (c.1565-1638), 1st Baronet, who was married twice and had 22 children. There is an exceptionally fine monument to Sir Thomas in the Parish Church of Sotterley, Suffolk, with sculptures of himself, his two wives and 22 children.
Further details can be found on Mr. Plater's Web site.