Historically in Lancashire, it is 2+1⁄2 miles (4.0 km) south of Bolton town centre and the same distance north of Farnworth.

On Green Lane there is one large public house: Southfield's, a pub and restaurant and The Brooklyn (now a private school).

Will Hill Brook, which drains into the Doe Hey Reservoirs, forms the southern boundary between Great Lever and Farnworth.

Former Manchester City striker Paul Moulden owned a chip shop in the area and ex-Bolton player Roy Greaves ran a pub called Monteraze here for many years.

The Great Lever football club was briefly prominent in the 1880s, at one point being considered one of the top two in the country.