http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7205301.stm Right on my bloody doorstep, not literally, luckily!
Scottish word for hallway..... "Scottish tenements are usually three to five storeys in height, with two to four flats on each floor. (In contrast, industrial cities in England tended to favour "back-to-back" terraces of brick.) Scottish tenements are constructed in terraces of tenements, and each entrance within a block is referred to as a close or stair — both referring to the shared passageway to the individual flats."