Do you have a knight in shining armour among your ancestors? Or possibly a drop of exotic foreign blood flowing through your veins?

The Heritage Llangwm project, working to uncover Llangwm's Flemish roots, wants to hear from you if you've traced your family back to the 1700s in the area around the village.

Because if you have, you may be related to the gentleman (pictured) whose effigy lies in St. Jerome's Church in the village to this day, thought to be Sir David de la Roche.

And even more exciting, you could be a descendant of Sir David's ancestors, the invaders from Flanders who came to Britain with William the Conqueror in 1066 and ultimately set-up home in Pembrokeshire.

The project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund among others, is attempting to establish if anyone still living in the area has connections going right back to Sir David and beyond.

The plan is to test the DNA of volunteers to see if it matches samples held by geneticists in Flanders.

Three likely families have been identified and the family histories of several others are being checked.

Elizabeth Rawlings, Heritage Llangwm's research officer, says families with certain surnames are thought to have connections with Flanders.

"What we're looking for are families who can trace their male ancestors back 200 years or more to the area within five miles of Llangwm.

"If the research looks promising, they'll be asked to provide a saliva sample which will be tested with all the usual safeguards concerning privacy.

"Our colleagues in Antwerp have samples from people born there and hopefully will be able to match them with our volunteers.

"It would be really exciting to be able to identify people whose lineage goes back to the 1100s."

The Flemings were involved in the Norman invasion in 1066 because William the Conqueror's wife was Flemish.

Many stayed on and it's thought they were sent to Pembrokeshire in the 1100s by William's son Henry as a buffer between the Anglo-Norman invaders and the troublesome Welsh locals.

Many settled in the Haverfordwest and Llangwm areas - known then as Landegunnie - and it was Flemish craftsmen who were responsible for Llangwm's church of St. Jerome.

If you can trace your male ancestors back 200 years or more to the Llangwm area, you can get in touch via email on [email protected]">[email protected] or leave a message on 07597 152903.