Middle "houses" in Edinburgh new town (photo)

[ScottishShortcake]

On holiday for a few days in Edinburgh, staying in the new town. Came across these middle doors which appear to be separate residences and wonder how it works?

Door on left has left hand rooms, door on right has right hand rooms, middle door has rooms behind/ above?

Intrigued. Googling has not helped.

A very narrow house with only the single line of windows above...?

I assume either above or behind but I don't know and am now curious!

I'd always assumed that these were doors to shared passages to the back garden/yard, but they might of course be doors to seperate flats on the first or second floors?

If you look at the first two windows above the "middle door" you can see staircases, so presumably they lead to upper flats.

I wonder if I'll get any replies from someone who lives in one or knows someone who does. Maybe they lead to the top floor? Old servants entrance perhaps?

The doors nearest the windows belong to the ground floor flat and the door in the middle is the “close” door which is access to the flats on the second and third floors,

This

Ah thank you. I had assumed the doors either side led to complete houses. Interesting!

Yeah middle door leads to stairs which leads to flats on first floors and above.

Often flats. Sometimes ground floor tenament flats are accessed via the communal staircase but others have their own front door (main door flats).

Queen Street?

Nah there is no end on parking in Queen St and I don't think there are any common stairs like that? I am trying to work out too 😂

Was just thinking of the Malt Whisky Society on Queen Street as an example of a narrow house with multiple rooms but yes, this is probably more likely flats

Have a relative who lives in one of these. The doors on left and right are ground floor and basement flats, they do not have upper floors.
The middle door leads into a close with stairs to upper flats, usually 2 flats in each floor.

I know someone with a "main door" flat in Glasgow, they also have a door into the close that gives them access to the back courtyard area and the bins.

Yep, you have main door flats, then stairs to to the upper flats through the other door. We were lucky enough to live in one that had a flat on each floor but depending on where they are and how they were built, there can be several flats on each floor off the communal stair.

It's a much denser way of building, more like the France than England. Some houses are converted but a lot were built as flats.

Great King Street? And yes either side will be main door flats and the middle door the common stair for the flats above.

The door bell buzzers are often a clue, if there's only one it's a main door flat or house and if there's multiple it's flats. I would guess that the ones either side are main door (ground and possibly basement flats) and the middle door is to the stairs leading to the upper floor flats.

Thank you again all. They were taken on Nelson Street.

The architecture is definitely more European in feel. We went out to Leith yesterday and a street on the waterfront reminded me of Amsterdam.

There are some beautiful places on rightmove in new town for eye watering prices.

Yes a 'main door' flat is a specific thing here. The other flats have doors onto a shared close. Although I like the idea of a very skinny tall house 😁

Not easy to live in @PracticallyPerfectedIt
Nelson Street is lovely - I tend to just zoom through it. Must look more carefully.