The George Hotel on The Parade traces its name to at least 1793, when the Manx Mercury recorded an Assembly held at Downes's rooms at 'The George', run by an elderly former Manchester Regiment soldier. After Downes died in 1820 his widow continued the business until, around 1830, the inn was rebuilt by the Duke of Atholl to a design by architect John Welch, completed in 1834 with funds raised by subscription; a Mr Whittle later added bay windows, a balcony, kitchens and a gateway in the 1890s. Standing opposite Castle Rushen, the George Inn housed a large assembly room that made it the town's principal meeting place, and it briefly hosted sittings of the House of Keys when their own building was declared unsafe in 1817.