The City of Petersburg

This past year we received a grant from the City of Petersburg for $100,000 to stabilize the kitchen building behind the villa which will serve as the site for the interpretation for African-American life at Battersea. We are honored to be given the resources to take on this important project, and look forward to sharing updates as this work progresses. 

In Fall of 2025, structural engineers were retained to study and stabilize the foundation of the kitchen building and we are eagerly waiting for this project to commence in early 2026.

The Virginia Reynolds Foundation

The Virginia Reynolds Foundation has matched our grant from the Cabell Foundation to complete areas of stucco and masonry work on the pavilions and back portico of the villa.

The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation

In November 2025, we received the welcome news that The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation had approved our grant request for $100,000, requiring a 1-for-1 match, to complete the masonry and stucco work on the North side of the villa. The grant will also enable us to make the villa handicap-accessible. 

The Jenrette Foundation

We have received a $5,000 grant from the Jenrette Foundation in Hillsborough, N.C., which has funded a recent archaeological survey. This money was responsible for our exciting new discovery of the brick walkways hidden underground in front of the villa. Archaeologists and the Battersea Foundation are intrigued with the possibility that this may either be a survivor of Judge John May’s gardens or possibly be part of Colonel Banister’s original landscape. In October, the William & Mary Center for Archaeological Research brought Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to Battersea to survey the area and found not only remnants of these walkways but other anomalies as well. The W&M team will return to continue their research and help us understand more about Battersea’s early horticultural history.

The Garden Club of Virginia

We are excited to announce that the Garden Club of Virginia has selected Battersea as the site for its 2026 historic landscape research fellowship to fund the work of an architectural landscape student. This fellowship will provide Battersea with a deeper understanding of its horticultural history and help shine light on Battersea not just as a historical and architectural place of significance, but for its specimen trees and rare plants.