John Alderson (physician)

Thereupon the whole body of dissenters in the town, out of regard for their pastor, drew up an instrument by which they expelled him from the church in order that he might acquire the estate.

Their good intentions were however defeated by the heirs-at-law, who disputed the legality of the bequest in the court of Chancery on the statute of mortmain, and gained their suit.

To commemorate his services there and the public spirit he exhibited in founding and presiding over various literary and scientific institutions in the town, a statue of the doctor was erected in 1833 by subscription and placed on the lawn in front of the infirmary at a cost of £300.

Dr. Alderson was also the author of a work not altogether of a professional character, entitled ‘An Essay on Apparitions accounted for independently of Preternatural Agency’ (8vo, London, 1823).

His son James, after receiving a regular medical training, began to practise in Hull, and soon became the chief physician of the town.