Henry Moule's dry earth closet, which he first patented in 1873. This example is from around 1875

Henry Moule (1801–1880) was a priest in the Church of England and inventor of the dry earth closet. The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican

Life

Education and priesthood

Moule, sixth son of George Moule, solicitor and banker, was born at Melksham, Wiltshire, 27 Jan. Melksham is a medium-sized English town lying on the River Avon. Etymology The county formerly 'Wiltonshire' or 'Wiltunscir' (9th century is named after the former county town of Wilton (itself named after the River Wylye 1801, and educated at Marlborough grammar school. Marlborough ( IPA /ˈmɔːlbrə/ " Maul bruh" is a market town in the English county of Wiltshire on the Old Bath Road He was elected a foundation scholar of St John's College, Cambridge, and graduated B. St John's College, an institution known formally as The Master Fellows and Scholars of the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge is a A. 1821 and M. A. 1826. He was ordained to the curacy of Melksham in 1823, and took sole charge of Gillingham, Dorset, in 1825. Not to be confused with Gillingham Kent Gillingham ( is a town in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. He was made vicar of Fordington in the same county in 1829, and remained there the remainder of his life.

For some years he undertook the duty of chaplain to the troops in Dorchester barracks, for whose use, as well as for a detached district of his own parish, he built in 1846, partly from the proceeds of his published ‘Barrack Sermons,’ 1845 (2nd edit. 1847), a church known as Christ Church, West Fordington. In 1833 his protests brought to an end the evils connected with the race meetings at Dorchester. Dorchester is a Market town in southern central Dorset, England, on the River Frome at the junction of the A35 and A37

Dry earth closet

Moule's earth closet design, circa 1909.

During the cholera visitations of 1849 and 1854 his exertions were unwearied. Impressed by the insalubrity of the houses, he turned his attention to sanitary science, and invented what is called the dry earth system. In partnership with James Bannehr, he took out a patent for the process (No. 1316, dated 28 May 1860). Among his works bearing on the subject were: ‘The Advantages of the Dry Earth System,’ 1868; ‘The Impossibility overcome: or the Inoffensive, Safe, and Economical Disposal of the Refuse of Towns and Villages,’ 1870; ‘The Dry Earth System,’ 1871; ‘Town Refuse, the Remedy for Local Taxation,’ 1872, and ‘National Health and Wealth promoted by the general adoption of the Dry Earth System,’ 1873. His system was adopted in private houses, in rural districts, in military camps, in many hospitals, and extensively in India.

Later years

He also wrote an important work, entitled ‘Eight Letters to Prince Albert, as President of the Council of the Duchy of Cornwall,’ 1855, prompted by the condition of Fordington parish, belonging to the duchy. In two letters in the ‘Times’ of 24 Feb. and 2 April 1874 he advocated a plan for extracting gas from Kimmeridge shale. He died at Fordington vicarage, 3 Feb. 1880, having married in 1824 Mary Mullett Evans, who died 21 Aug. 1877.

His son Handley Moule was a well-known theologian and scholar and the Bishop of Durham from 1901-1920; two other sons, Arthur Evans Moule and George Evans Moule, were missionaries in China. Handley Carr Glyn Moule (born Dorchester, Dorsetshire, December 23 1841 died 1920 was Bishop of Durham from 1901-1920 Arthur Evans Moule (1836-1918 was an English missionary to China. George Evans Moule (January 28 1828-March 3 1912 was an Anglican missionary in China and the first Anglican bishop of mid-China A grandson, C. F. D. Moule, was a notable Anglican theologian. Charles Francis Digby Moule CBE FBA ( 3 December 1908 - 30 September 2007) known to his friends as Charlie but

Publications

In addition to the works already mentioned, and many single sermons and pamphlets, Moule wrote: 1. ‘Two Conversations between a Clergyman and one of his Parishioners on the Public Baptism of Infants,’ 1843. 2. ‘Scraps of Sacred Verse,’ 1846. 3. ‘Scriptural Church Teaching,’ 1848. 4. ‘Christian Oratory during the first Five Centuries,’ 1859. 5. ‘My Kitchen-Garden: by a Country Parson,’ 1860. 6. ‘Manure for the Million. A Letter to the Cottage Gardeners of England,’ 1861; 11th thousand, 1870. 7. ‘Self-supporting Boarding Schools and Day Schools for the Children of the Industrial Classes,’ 1862; 3rd edit. 1871. 8. ‘Good out of Evil. A Series of Letters publicly addressed to Dr. Colenso,’ 1863. 9. ‘Pardon and Peace: illustrated by ministerial Memorials, to which are added some Pieces of Sacred Verse,’ 1865. 10. ‘Our Home Heathen, how can the Church of England get at them,’ 1868. 11. ‘“These from the Land of Sinim. ” The Narrative of the Conversion of a Chinese Physician [Dzing, Seen Sang],’ 1868. 12. ‘Land for the Million to rent. Addressed to the Working Classes of England; by H. M. ,’ 1870. 13. ‘On the Warming of Churches,’ 1870. 14. ‘The Science of Manure as the Food of Plants,’ 1870. 15. ‘The Potatoe Disease, its Cause and Remedy. Three Letters to the Times,’ 1872. 16. ‘Harvest Hymns,’ 1877.

References

• This article incorporates text from the Dictionary of National Biography (1885–1900), a publication now in the public domain. The Dictionary of National Biography ( DNB) is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history published from 1885 The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone