Alves
| Alves Gaelic: An Àbhais or An Àbhas | |
| Morayshire | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | NJ1362 |
| Location: | 57°38’31"N, 3°27’0"W |
| Data | |
| Post town: | Elgin |
| Postcode: | IV30 |
| Dialling code: | 01343 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Moray |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
Moray |
Alves is a village and parish in Morayshire.
Geography
The A96 runs east to west across Alves and connects the village to the nearest towns of Forres (to the west) and Elgin (to the east). The local pub and restaurant is The Crooked Inn. Recently there has been a small housing development on the corner of the road leading south out of the village. Just down this road is Royal Alves, comprising the disused railway station and cottages. The dismantled railway is crossed by a small weak stone bridge. This hamlet is named after the use of this station and some local buildings by the British Royal Family, as Alves was the nearest railway stop to Gordonstoun School and was close to other Royal Estates in Morayshire. The hamlets of Garrowslack and Hillside are further southeast and are made up of isolated farms and houses.
Churches
Alves has two churches, the Old North Church (also known as Mary Kirk) was built in 1769 and is believed to occupy the same site as earlier churches here which records show date back to the 13th century. This church became disused in 1932 although it briefly housed members of the RAF in 1941 whilst they awaited the completion of their quarters at nearby RAF Kinloss.
The village cemetery, or kirkyard, is still located at this church. A recent survey by the Moray Burial Ground Research Group found a buried stone dated 1571, one of the earliest found by the group so far. The new South Church was built in 1878 as a Free Church and remains used to this day as part of the Presbytery of Moray. The bell in the South Church is actually the one removed from the old North Church after it closed.[1]
References
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Alves) |