IF YOU have ever walked around near a Blaenau Gwent village, you may have wondered why there is a cross visible on a nearby mountain.

The cross in Cwm is cemented deep in the village’s history, with origins in the early 1960s.

Jeff Davies, a member of the Cwm branch of the Salvation Army, told the Argus how it was placed there as part of an Easter tradition dating back six decades.

In the 1960s a group of churches in the area - operating under the the United Churches banner - paraded a cross in the area to mark Easter.

Mr Davies was present the first time the cross was taken to the mountain.

“Originally, we would walk the cross up to the church, but it would take us all day to get to the top of the mountain and come back, so the following year we had a bus to take us there, he said.

“On a Good Friday, we would parade the cross around Cwm and would stop in almost every street and have a Bible reading and prayer and move on.”

After this, they would have the bus take the cross and themselves close to the top of the mountain before they carried it the remainder of the way and would have a service at the top. The cross would then stay in place until Ascension Day where there would be another parade with the cross.

The original cross was made of wood, and in the 1990s Mr Davies said it had begun to deteriorate, so a suggestion was made to make a replacement out of metal. This was permanently placed on the mountain, with a wooden cross used in processions on Good Friday and Ascension Day.

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The Salvation Army Corp meet each year at 8am on Easter Sunday and play music for the whole valley to hear from the cross.

Salvation Army Corp Sergeant Major Paul Crump goes up each Good Friday – continuing during the pandemic – and plays hymns on his cornet. This tradition for Mr Crump began when he moved to the area 28 years ago.

Over the past couple of years, he has also recorded his performances and put them on social media so those who are unable to attend, are able to see them as well as hear the music.

Mr Crump said that the permanent cross was provided by British Steel 20 years ago.

"As a Christian, it is the story of 'Him' dying on Good Friday and rising again on Easter Sunday," he said.

"It is symbolic as Jesus is said to have carried the cross up a hill, and that is what we were doing."

Over the years, the number of people attending the services at the cross has decreased due to the majority of the congregation being of an older age and unable to get up the mountain – with Mr Davies himself stopping around the time the covid pandemic arrived. But the tradition remains and the cross is popular with the community.

“We have lost a lot of people going up to the cross because the congregation turns more elderly,” said Mr Crump.

Mr Davies said: “The people of Cwm are very fond of the cross.”

The services held at the cross each year continue to go ahead and attendees are able to enjoy the services with a ‘fantastic’ view of the valley of Cwm.