Close Encounters

Although tenements (blocks of flats with a communal staircase) were/are commonplace in many cities in the UK, Glasgow has been particularly associated with this particular form of housing for more than 150 years. Often the association wasn't a welcome one as tenements were often seen to be synonymous with poverty, deprivation and slums, often with good reason.

However, not all tenement neighbourhoods were slums. Glasgow also had areas of upper-working-class and lower-middle-class tenements, as well as those of the solid middle class. One of the the most defining distinctions between the quality of tenement was whether it had a 'wally close', which was generally regarded as the acme of working-class respectability. This was a close (an entry corridor) with tiles on the walls up to a height of about four feet, as opposed to mere paint - the term 'wally' refers to the kind of china out of which the tiles were made. Some of these wally tiles were incredibly ornate, often depicting abstract or floral patterns in a distinctive Art Nouveau style, as here.

The wholesale demolition of many of Glasgow's tenements in the 1960s and '70s meant many of these wally tiles and closes were lost but happily, enough still remain as you'll find if you care to peer up closes as you go.