In 1886 just after the publication of his novel A Drama in Muslin, George Moore rented rooms from Mrs. Annie Feist (d.1891), a grocer and draper whose home and shop were situated on the eastern side of the Green in Southwick, between the old Cricketers Inn and the village school. In this location he enjoyed a writing retreat less than two miles from his friends the Bridgers in Shoreham-by-Sea.
It appears that Mrs. Feist was widowed shortly before Moore’s arrival (her husband’s will was probated in 1887) and that Moore’s rooms became available as a result. The house and nearby properties were later demolished to make way for a shopping centre.
