St Stephen & All Martyrs, or Lever Bridge church is at the heart of the community of Darcy Lever. We aim to be an open and welcoming church, seeking to serve our neighbourhood which also includes part of the Haulgh.

We have a Sunday School meeting during the first part of our 10am service and there are Beavers and Brownies linked to the church. We are closely involved with our church aided Primary School which shares the site. There are groups for discussion and learning together, and a Mothers' Union branch.

The church building is the first of Edmund Sharpe's 3 churches built from terracotta, hence the nickname of the Pot Church. It is the prime example with ornate decorations inside and out and beautifully decorated inside. The openwork spire had to be removed in 1939 and the lower tower was removed by Fred Dibnah, the local steeplejack, in 1966.
In 1989 a massive outbreak of dry-rot was discovered. Since then the dry-rot has been eradicated, the church has been re-roofed, redecorated, the heating system replaced, some missing/damaged terracotta replaced,  the west porch re-roofed and the East end repaired, including the stained glass window.

The church is still undertaking long-term phased restoration work funded mainly by local fund-raising and English Heritage /Heritage Lottery Fund Repair Grants. The west window has recently had some of the original stained glass from the tower installed inside the newer plain glass window (it was taken out when the lower tower was removed).

Members of the church are actively involved in a variety of ways in our local community and welcome visitors from the locality and further afield. The church is open over the Open Heritage Weekend in September and most Wednesday mornings and Thursday afternoons - check the events calendar for details.

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