A first edition York manual, dated 1509, the only one of six recorded copies remaining in private hands and one of the first English books printed with music, is set to fetch up to £20,000 at auction.

The copy - a handbook for the parish priest in the York diocese - contains deletions and additions made around 1534 in accordance with the "new religion" of Henry VIII and the Act of Supremacy which made him "Supreme Head" of the Church of England.

The anonymous contemporary priest who used the manual has discreetly added numerous manuscript corrections to conform to the new laws, crossed out the name of the Pope - and even drawn a simple diagram to demonstrate blessing with Holy Water.

The manual, one of the earliest printed service books for use in the York diocese, has remained in the Wentworth family in Yorkshire since the late 16th century and emerges into public domain for the first time in nearly 400 years when it is offered for sale at Christie's in London on July 8.

Although the Pope's name has been removed, those of "counterfeit" saints such as St Wilfrid, have not been deleted as required by a decree of September 1538, indicating that the book may have been "retired" before that date.

The manual, outlining the duties of a parish priest, including baptism, the marriage ceremony, visitation of the sick and the burial of the dead, was published by Wynkyn de Worde who worked in William Caxton's shop in London and took over the printing press on Caxton's death in the 1490s.

Christie's book specialist Margaret Ford said: "Apart from being incredibly rare, this particular copy with its host of amendments is a real mirror of its time.

"It was a genuine working tool of the day, which makes its state of preservation all the more remarkable."

The book is among £10 million worth of treasures for sale from Wentworth Woodhouse, drawn from the collections assembled by Thomas Wentworth, Earl Strafford, and his descendants.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.