Alves: Churches and Historic Buildings

Alves offers travelers several distinct themes to consider when choosing where to visit, including historic architecture and local remembrance: churches, bells, an ornamental tower, a mausoleum, a fort and war graves. The buildings and memorial sites differ both in form and in their historical periods. This makes it possible to explore the cultural character of the place from several perspectives.

Churches and Memorial Sites

Alves Old Church is a long, narrow, rectangular church. Its south side has a narrow window arrangement with eight bays. The basic shape and facade design give the building a clear architectural form. The church is no longer used for religious purposes.

Alves Parish Church is also no longer used for religious purposes; its present form dates to 1878. Two bells made by Michael Burgherhys Holland are displayed there: one from 1637 and one from 1639. Both were removed from the old Alves Parish Church in 1978. The dates when the bells were made and the date of the church’s present form place each in its own historical context.

The cemetery of Alves Old Parish Church contains two Commonwealth war graves from the First World War: the graves of Private G. Millar of the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and Private T. Robertson of the Seaforth Highlanders. The names, regiments and wartime period give each grave a specific historical association. For travelers who want to consider places of remembrance as well as architectural forms, this cemetery adds another perspective to the architectural theme.

York Tower and the Knock of Alves

York Tower is a three-storey Gothic ornamental tower on a hill, dated 5 January 1827. Its height, Gothic ornamental character and hillside location describe three distinct features of the structure. The stone circle at the Knock of Alves is 200 metres south of York Tower; the Forteath Mausoleum is directly northeast of the tower. York Tower thus serves as a shared point of reference for both sites.

The Forteath Mausoleum was built around 1850 by A. and W. Reid. Together with its precise location, this offers a distinct insight into the history of the buildings: the tower is a dated ornamental structure, while the mausoleum is another historic building with known builders and an approximate date of construction.

The Knock of Alves is also home to a partially damaged fort with five lines of defense: three walls and two outer ramparts. This layout illustrates the difference between a single tower form and a multi-part fortification. At the fort, the focus is not on a single facade but on the arrangement of the site’s several defensive elements.

Historical Periods and Travel Planning

The recorded dates place the different themes in historical context: the bells date from 1637 and 1639, York Tower is dated 5 January 1827, the mausoleum was built around 1850, and the present form of Alves Parish Church dates to 1878. The Commonwealth graves are from the First World War. This makes it possible to consider older bells, 19th-century buildings and wartime remembrance as distinct historical periods.

For your travel planning, bus route 31 connects Elgin, Alves and Forres. Check the timetable before traveling if you wish to use this connection. If you are considering Alves as a destination, its churches, historic buildings and memorial sites can provide a specific cultural focus for your stay.

Discover more destinations: Drumin, Knock, Portknockie, Findhorn, Burghead, Dandalieth, Glenlivet, Dufftown.

View the broader travel guide: Moray.