What is a 'wally close'?

For Week 23 it's Buttermilk, Spring Green, Sap Green & Tan

Over the last few days we have been travelling from England to Scotland for a week’s stay on the beautiful island of Arran. We’ve been many times and it never loses it’s charm. On our stopover in Glasgow to visit family I’ve noticed colourful tiles on the walls of entrances to some of the older buildings as we walked down Hyndland road. This sparked my curiosity and I wanted to find out a bit more about the ornate Victorian ceramics often found in the old tenement buildings around the city.

The buildings themselves were built during the 19th and early 20th centuries. They’re typically red sandstone, a few floors high and built in rows facing a street with a shared back court. Each floor has two or four flats and they are all accessed via a shared entrance and stairwell, known as a close.

The close was often tiled in colourful decorative ceramics, sometimes to ceiling height but usually the lower half only. This offered both aesthetic appeal and practical benefits - the tiles are durable, hygienic and easy to clean and they brightened the area.

In Scotland, the word wally has been used since the 1800s to refer to china or ceramics. A mantelpiece ornament of a porcelain dog would be a wally dog and the tiled decoration of the tenements is referred to as a wally close.

They’re now considered an important part of Glasgow’s architectural heritage and are a much loved feature of these old buildings.

Watch the video for more information, visit @tnmnttiles on Instagram for some amazing photos and read more here.

“Wally Close, Hyndland Road”, photograph of glazed ceramic tiles, Esté MacLeod, 2025

Colour Combination

The chosen colours this week are Buttermilk, Spring Green, Sap Green & Tan. Use the colours along with a contrasting dark and neutral light colour if you wish. Create an artwork in any medium or style.

I love seeing what you’ve create. If you’re posting on Instagram, please tag #coloricombo and #estemacleod and join us in the private Facebook group Creative Prompts.

Early Bird offer ends Sunday

Floral Fusion is offered for the final time from 30 June to 20 July. This three week long course was created in 2024 and is brim full of projects linked to floral and botanical forms. Early Bird registration is now open with a special 20% discount off the £287 listed price until 15 June.

Find all the details about Floral Fusion below, and remember if you’re a Coloricombo contributing subscriber you get 25% off this and all my other courses!