Morvah should mean sea grave but by 1348 was claimed to be the name of the patron saint of this chapelry of Madron. By 1390 the rather spurious Morveth was joined by St Bridget of Kildare in Ireland who was then the predominant saint here. According to Nicholas Orme this is ‘a rare example of an Irish saint authentically commemorated in Cornwall’, though not at an early date. Due to historical confusion, today, Morvah is one of only two Churches in the UK affiliated to St Brigit of Sweden and the church possesses a beautiful engraving of the old church on Swedish glass.
In 1327 Morvah was a quasi-parish as it was assessed separately from Madron for tax purposes. The vicar of Madron, Sir Roger Melleder, received licence in 1390 to celebrate Divine Services there and further licenses followed in 1400 and 1409. An aisle arcade of three bays and possibly a squat tower were added to north and west of the original building, which was probably just a chancel and nave of 13th or 14th century date.  A will of 1435 and indulgence of 1447 may relate to this expansion. Parish Registers date back to 1617. The earliest evidence of Christianity here may be the remains of an ancient Chapel on the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, some 500 yards to the North of the present Church. This coastal chapel was later thought to be the abode of an early Celtic hermit and is close by the “Holy Well”, a natural spring and an estate called Merther lay not far from the church, too.
The Rural Dean reported in 1808 ‘church in good order’, in 1814 ‘church so small as hardly sufficient for the congregation’ and in 1824 ‘church very damp’ because there had been no trench dug around the walls.
In 1828 a “very handsome” public subscription was raised by “the zeal and public spirit of the inhabitants of Morvah”. Together with a grant from The Society for Promoting the Enlargement and Building of Churches and Chapels, this allowed a new Church to be re-built and extended in all directions beyond the foundations of the old building. This creating a larger aisle-less church with Georgian churchwardens’ sash windows replaced; a dark rumour alleged that the builders found human bones from earlier burials as they extended into the churchyard and that they threw them into a nearby field rather than having them properly reburied – which continued to blacken Morvah`s name for many years afterwards.
By the end of the 19th century, Morvah had suffered a sharp decline in population, largely due to the collapse of the local mining industry, and the “new” Church had also fallen into severe disrepair. The door was down and apparently a cow wandered in one night and terrified the villagers by tolling the church bell as it chewed on the straw bell rope. How much this story contributed to funds being found to address the repairs is unclear – but, somehow, sufficient funds were found and significant renovation took place in 1902.
At the end of the 20th century, Diocesan Parish reorganisation meant Morvah Church joined with Pendeen in the neighbouring village, rather than with Madron, opening a new chapter in its history under the Revd Alan Rowell. There have been further renovations to the tower and roof and there is now a major fund raising operation in place to restore the windows, which date back to the 1828 rebuilding.