York Tower, Knock Of Alves

York Tower, located at Knock Of Alves, is a Gothic-style folly possibly designed by William Robertson of Elgin, dated January 5, 1827. This three-storey octagonal tower sits on a hilltop and features harl pointed rubble with tooled and polished ashlar dressings. The entrance on the east face has a pointed head and a hoodmould, which includes worn masked stops and a single order of nailhead decoration around the recessed doorway. Above the entrance is a dated plaque, flanked by blind cruciform arrow slits. Similar slits are found on alternate faces at the ground and first floors, while the upper storey features long 'keyhole' slits. Round-headed windows are present on alternate faces at the first and second floors, with the second floor windows having mask decoration on the cill corbels. A pulvinated string course marks the division between each storey. The wallhead is corbelled and crenellated, topped with a small stack concealed by the crenellation, and the tower has a flat roof with a central flagstaff.

Inside, the walls are made of rubble, and access to each floor is provided by a crude wooden staircase. There is a small mural fireplace in the upper room.

Adjacent to the tower is a mausoleum, likely designed by architect Thomas Mackenzie around 1850. This subterranean vault is only visible on the north side, where it is revealed by a tooled rubble wall with a block pedimented walled-up entrance, enclosed by a square railing. In the centre of the enclosure is a rectangular tomb on a stepped base, topped with a shallow pyramidal shape and decorated with angle acroteria featuring carved thistles. Inscribed polished granite tablets are set into the sides of the tomb, with three on each side and a single tablet at each end. The enclosure is surrounded by cast-iron spearhead railings.