This manuscript contains a sermon preached at the funeral of Anthony Cookson by Josias Shute on 29 January 1623. The volume opens with two blank leaves, which are followed by a printed catalogue entry that has been pasted in. The sermon's title page comes after another blank leaf. The sermon also has a preface (pp. 1-4). The sermon itself can be found at pp. 5-87.
Duodecimo. Calf binding, featuring the Inner Temple coat of arms on the front and back covers. There are gold gilt edges. The endpapers are marbled. There is a bookplate of the Inner Temple Library on the inside front cover of the volume. The lettering on the spine reads as follows: 'COOKSON’S FUNERALL SERMON 1623. MSS. NO. 531. G.'
Although this manuscript has been catalogued as a Petyt Manuscript, it was actually presented by Mrs Anne Sadleir, who made the gift in 1661. Her gift was intended as a tribute to her father, Sir Edward Coke, who had studied at Inner Temple. The Petyt Collection was largely bequeathed to the Benchers of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple by William Petyt (1637-1707) in 1707.
J. Conway Davies, ed., Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Library of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, Volume I: The Petyt Collection: MSS. 502-533 (Oxford University Press, 1972), p. 333; Hannah Yip
The Inner Temple Library catalogue attributes this sermon incorrectly to Nathaniel Shute. See J. Conway Davies, Catalogue, p. 333.