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Origin and history

The Château de Frugie, located in Saint-Pierre-de-Frugie in Dordogne (New Aquitaine), is a monument dating back to the 14th century, with major transformations in the 15th and 16th centuries. Originally, it was a fortified quadrilateral, with only two sides remaining today: a house flanked by two rectangular towers with machicoulis, and ruins partially covered with ivy, including the remains of a chapel. The dry moat and traces of a missing drawbridge testify to its defensive past. The site, a private property, has been listed as historical monuments since 1968 for its facades and roofs.

The present castle succeeds a medieval fortified den destroyed during conflicts with the English, probably during the Hundred Years War. In the 17th century, a fire ravaged some of the buildings, including the tower Saint-Jacques and the main wing, whose access was through a drawbridge today filled. The portal of the South House, Louis XIII style, and that of the chapel (17th century) recall the post-medieval developments. The enclosure walls, once flanked by five round towers, delineated a central courtyard where a well and presumed access to underground remains according to local tradition.

On 18 April 1672, the castle was marked by the death of Hélie d'Arlot de Frugie, knight and lord of the place, whose name remains associated with the history of the estate. The protected elements (façades, roofs) reflect a hybrid architecture, mixing medieval defences (murder, mâchicoulis) and wider openings of later eras. The sources also mention traces of ditches and ramparts, now partially cleared, which underline its strategic role in the green Perigord.

Ranked among the Dordogne castles, the site illustrates the evolution of local fortifications, from feudal dens to seigneurial residences. Its inscription in the inventory of historical monuments (1968) aims to preserve the remains of the 15th to 16th centuries, a pivotal period between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. The architectural descriptions (square towers, chapel, moats) and the family archives (teachers of Frugie) bear witness to the noble dynamics in Périgord, between wars and reconstruction.

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