Poil, Nièvre - Château de Pierrefite, Heritage château in Poil, France

The Château de Pierrefitte in Poil is a 19th-century bourgeois dwelling rebuilt in 1912 after a fire, with no defined style. Its pale mottled stone walls carry dark grey-brown tiled roofs; the three-storey central block has a steep hipped roof pierced by two small round openings and opens at its base through two round arches. A taller block with a square tower and pointed conical roof stands to the right, its facades covered by climbing plants.

A fief at Pierrefitte is documented in 1510, held by Guillemette de Berger, though no castle or manor is mentioned then; the name appears as Piereficte in 1566 and Pierrefistes in 1573. A medieval-style hunting pavilion was built in the first half of the 19th century and a main dwelling in the second half. A fire on 21 November 1912 destroyed much of this house, described in the parish register as resembling a large Swiss chalet, and it was rebuilt in 1912 in its present form without a defined style.

The name Pierrefitte derives from the Latin Petra ficta, "standing stone", recorded as Piereficte in 1566 and Pierrefistes in 1573, which Roland Niaux reads as evidence of the site's antiquity. The château stands along the path to Saint-Léger-sous-Beuvray and Larochemillay, 5 km north-west of the village of Poil.

The château stands about 5 km north-west of the village of Poil, along the lane toward Saint-Léger-sous-Beuvray and Larochemillay. A pond and an adjoining outbuilding lie next to it. The building is a private residence, so it is seen from the lane; the two round arches at the base of the central block face the approach.

The name Pierrefitte derives from the Latin Petra ficta, "standing stone", which the local historian Roland Niaux read as evidence of the site's antiquity. The hamlet already appears on the 18th-century Cassini map, though no castle or manor is mentioned there before the 19th century.