Worship times

Alves
11:30am 1st Sunday of month

Burghead
11:30am every Sunday except Alves Communions
(1st Sunday - June & December)

Contact

Minister :
VACANT

Interim Moderator
Rev. George B Rollo
13 Meadow View,
Hopeman, Elgin, IV30 5PL
tel: 01343 835226
Email: rollos@gmail.com 

Session Clerk :
Mr Barrie Wallace
Drayton House, Monaughty, Alves
tel: 01343 850372
email:brendaandbarrie@aol.com

Website: www.abcofs.org.uk 
Parish Profile available online

Location

Alves: One and half miles south west of village. Signposted from main road
click here for link to multimap


Burghead: In main street (Grant Street) next to the village school

click here for link to multimap

Information

History :
Burghead was originally part of the Parish of Duffus. It is a good example of early 19th century town planning, although the plans cut through the best example in Scotland of a Pictish fort. Burghead is said to be the capital of the old Pictland. A so-called Roman Well nearby may have been an early Christian baptistry. Paganism in Burghead has however never been completely supplanted - the annual "Burning of the Clavie" survives to the present day.

In ancient times there was a chapel dedicated to St. Aidan. The Church of Scotland built a church in 1822, but only after a group of seceeders had resolved to form a congregation in 1821. The History of the U.P. Congregations comments "Overlapping had now taken the place of destitution and neglect". There was further division in 1843 when the parish minister and many of his congregation went to the Free Church. The two dissenting congregations united in 1906 and worshipped in the old United Presbyterian / Secession Church, the continuing Free Church having claimed the FC building. In 1929 the United Free and the Church of Scotland congregations united and the UF Church was sold to the Town Council for use as a public hall. Burghead was linked with Alves in 1963.

The church in use at Alves (1878) is the former Free Church, although the old Parish Church, disused since 1931, still stands. The united congregation of Alves and Burghead was formed in 1982, and linked with Kinloss and Findhorn in 1995.