St Stephen and All Martyrs' Church, Lever Bridge

The church was built between 1842 and 1844 to a design by the Lancaster architect Edmund Sharpe. Apart from the foundations, the rubble infill of the walls, and the slate roof, the entire building was constructed in terracotta produced by the local Ladyshore Coal and TerraCotta Company, which was owned by Sharpe's brother-in-law, John Fletcher. Many of the fittings that would normally have been made of wood were also executed in terracotta. Originally, the church had an openwork spire with crocketed pinnacles, a parapet with open tracery, and traceried windows. By the 1930s the spire had become unsafe and was dismantled in 1937. Although there were plans to rebuild it, the lower part of the…

Internally, the timber hammerbeam roof is carried on terracotta corbels. The interior is richly decorated with friezes, ball-flowers, foliage, inscriptions, panels, and blind arcades, all executed in terracotta. Behind the altar, forming a reredos, are niches and panelling incorporating the words of the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer. Terracotta also forms the pew ends, which are decorated with poppy heads, as well as the organ case. The original altar, together with the octagonal diapered font and pulpit, were likewise made of terracotta. The stained glass in the east window, and in several other windows throughout the church, is by Thomas Willement; one of these…