In 1837, following the request of Prosper Mérimée, then inspector general of historical monuments, the prefects received a circular asking them to draw up a list of the monuments in their department whose restoration they considered to be a priority, by classifying them in order of importance.
[1] The Commission for Historical Monuments was then responsible for classifying all the lists: in 1840, this request resulted in a list of a thousand monuments "for which relief has been requested" and therefore require work (and therefore funds), to be preserved.
[2] The monuments concerned are for the most part public (belonging to the State, the municipality, or the department).
The list contains both buildings (churches, castles, etc.)
[2] In total, it has 1,082 entries,[3] including 934 buildings.