Lever, Little, a township in the parish of Bolton, Greater Manchester (Salford Hundred), 3 miles S.E. of Bolton. The history of this township stems originally as a tiny manor in the twelfth century as part of the outlying property of the Barons of Manchester.  The town in the 1370's through the Barons was involved in the mining industry.
 

 

In the township the Bolton Canal passes over the River Irwell, by a lofty aqueduct of three arches. The land mark is near the birth place of Thomas Lever, an eloquent and popular preacher who lived through the reign of Edward VI. At Lever was also born in 1629, Oliver Heywood, a nonconformist divine. He was esteemed an able, laborious and conscientious minister. However, much of Little Lever’s early history is associated with the Lever family - of soap fame.
 

 

Today Little Lever is still affectionately known as “the village”. It has a population of around thirteen thousand, containing a broad spectrum of people. The village can proudly boast of  five primary schools a High School, five churches, and of ten pubs.

 

Much of the housing from the original village is left swelled by various developments built since the Second World War. The original houses are terraced. It was in the early 1970’s that Little Lever underwent a rapid expansion with the building of three housing estates which attracted many new families to the area. There are many young people in the village and many couples and newly weds have either started families in the area, or have moved in with babies and young children. We must also not forget our older residents who have spent much of their  lives in this quiet picturesque village.