Thomas Burgess (bishop of Salisbury)
[6] In that capacity Burgess wrote The Salisbury Spelling Book, an introductory manual for teaching reading and writing, which became highly popular in Sunday school classes throughout the country.A pen portrait of the Durham prebendaries in 1831 describes Burgess as 'silent in company, learned and intelligible in the pulpit; addressing the understanding in sound and classical language, informing the ignorant as the sun dispels the darkness of night.'[11] In June 1803, his old friend Henry Addington, then prime minister, appointed Burgess bishop of St Davids, by far the largest of the Welsh sees.Both at Salisbury and at St Davids, Burgess founded a Church Union Society for the assistance of infirm and distressed clergymen.Thomas Burgess was a founding member of the Odiham Agricultural Society in 1783 and played a leading role in establishing the Royal Veterinary College in order to contribute to improved education in the treatment of sick animals.His library remains at Lampeter, now as a special collection of the University of Wales Trinity St Davids; his many annotations offer an insight into Burgess's scholarly and theological preoccupations.