“We still have a place in the Greenfield Hill area of Connecticut, too,” Mrs. Schick, 39, said, referring to a historic section of Fairfield, Conn. “It’s 7,000 square feet, has air-conditioning and in many ways is a typical New England home. The house here is smaller, and while we have brought in some American comforts, it is quintessentially English.”  The house — a four-level, four-bedroom, 2,308-square-foot town house that is on the market for £1,375,000 (about $2.29 million) — fills one corner of the former Holloway Sanatorium. The rambling red-brick building is now called Crossland House, after its architect, William Henry Crossland. It was built in 1877 by Thomas Holloway, a medicine manufacturer, as a hospital for wealthy people who were mentally ill.  The hospital closed in 1981 and stood empty until 1994, when it was transformed into 23 residences by Octagon, a British development company. A total of 190 new houses and apartments were also built on the grounds, and the sanatorium’s former chapel was converted into a sports hall for the gated community.  Much of the building’s architectural details were preserved. For example, the hospital’s former dining room, which now houses a communal swimming pool, gym and leisure area, still has a series of ornate hand-carved beams. And the Great Hall, used for private events, has its original stained-glass windows and hand-decorated walls and ceilings.  The family’s town house has its own private entrance, and the interior reflects the building’s Victorian style, with details like clover-shaped sash windows and delicate cornices.  “The house did require a great deal of work, which began in June 2005, but we managed to finish just in time to celebrate Thanksgiving in our new home,” Mrs. Schick said. “We opened up the foyer to add to the sense of space created by the exceptionally high ceilings in the property.” (The Schicks did not want to disclose how much they paid for the renovations.)  The kitchen, which measures 19 by 9 feet, was also remodeled to take advantage of its large windows and to add some storage space and even a hidden table, which pulls down from a cupboard to resemble a stand-alone piece of antique furniture.  The dining room, which is 19.5 by 16.5 feet, has doors that open onto a private garden.  Upstairs is a 22-by-20-foot drawing room and a study, while the master bedroom is on the third level, along with two of the house’s four bathrooms. The Schicks renovated all the baths, lining the walls in marble and adding large walk-in showers with inlaid mosaic tiling.  Hannah also has a bedroom on this floor, while her brother’s room is at the top of the house, with a broad view of the leafy surroundings.  Rupert Wyatt, a partner at the Barton Wyatt real estate agency in Virginia Water, which is marketing the house, said the village “sells itself as a location because it is surrounded by countryside and beautiful places like Windsor Great Park — yet is also within easy reach of London.”  Mr. Wyatt said prices in the area had dropped about 10 percent since late 2007 but that a quality home in a prime location still can command about £500 (about $833) a square foot.  With Mrs. Schick now eager for a new, more challenging renovation project, the time seems right for the family to move on — and they expect to move into their new country home in Oxfordshire soon. But “we have thoroughly enjoyed it here — it has been great for us and the kids,” Mrs. Schick said.  “Virginia Park is a very special place,” she said, “somewhere to look back on in years to come, and we do wonder if we may one day return to retire here.”
David and Nina Schick say that they have relished the time their family has lived in one of Surrey’s most historic buildings.