From Beamish Museum to Ryhope Engines Museum and some of Newcastle’s most historic buildings, the production leans heavily on local landmarks to bring Woolf’s 1910 world to life, and many are an easy day trip.
Beamish Museum, County Durham
Beamish is the big one.
The open‑air living museum doubles for Edwardian London, its cobbled streets, trams and shopfronts giving Gharavi the scale and period detail she needed without leaving County Durham.
She has called Beamish “the jewel in the crown of the Northeast locations” and hopes the film will show national and international audiences just how extraordinary it is.
![]()
(Image: BEAMISH MUSEUM)
Where it is: Beamish Museum, Beamish, County Durham, DH9 0RG.
Ryhope Engines Museum, Sunderland
One of the most distinctive locations is Ryhope Engines Museum, the former pumping station in Sunderland. Gharavi only discovered it while scouting, but it quickly became one of her favourites: “It’s such a gem… staggeringly good for the region,” she says.
The preserved Victorian and Edwardian beam engines give Night and Day a real industrial backbone, and the director is full of praise for the volunteers – including one called Keith, who has been involved for around 40 years.
![]()
(Image: GOOGLE)
Where it is: Ryhope Engines Museum, Waterworks Road, Ryhope, Sunderland, SR2 0ND.
Durham Cathedral, Durham City
Durham Cathedral brings academic prestige to the screen.
Its cloisters, already known to many from Harry Potter, are used as Cambridge University, providing a backdrop for scenes set in the rarefied world of Edwardian higher education.
Gharavi says she was drawn to the “crazy parts” of the building – arches, walkways and enclosed courtyards – that could convincingly pass for Oxbridge colleges.
![Durham Cathedral doubles for Cambridge Univeristy in the movie.]()
Durham Cathedral doubles for Cambridge University in the movie. (Image: BRIDGE & TUNNEL PRODUCTIONS)
Where it is: Durham Cathedral, The Cathedral Office, The College, Durham City, County Durham, DH1 3EH.
The Lit & Phil, Newcastle
The Literary and Philosophical Society – better known as the Lit & Phil – appears in several key scenes.
The independent library’s reading rooms and galleries help recreate London’s intellectual and social circles, echoing the bookish, debate‑filled spaces that run through Woolf’s novel.
Where it is: The Lit & Phil, 23 Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1SE.
The Common Room and Mining Institute (Neville Hall), Newcastle
Neville Hall, home to The Common Room (formerly the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers), and the adjacent Mining Institute are also used prominently.
Their wood‑panelled lecture theatre and Victorian interiors stand in for professional and academic spaces in London, with Gharavi describing the circular lecture theatre as feeling exactly like a 1910 meeting room.
![]()
Common Room, Newcastle. (Image: GOOGLE)
Where it is: The Common Room / Mining Institute, Neville Hall, Westgate Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1SE.
Tanfield Railway
Tanfield Railway – billed as the world’s oldest working railway – is another North East gem that makes it into Night and Day.
Its heritage rolling stock, bridges and stations help extend the film’s period world beyond drawing rooms and libraries, adding movement and a sense of a country on the move.
![]()
(Image: Supplied)
Where it is: Tanfield Railway (Marley Hill), near Sunniside, NE16 5ET.
A region doubling for London and Cambridge
All of these locations are stitched together on screen to stand in for London and Cambridge, underlining just how versatile the North East can be as a filming destination.
For Gharavi, who has lived in the region for nearly three decades, the film is a statement of intent: proof that you can tell a major literary story using streets, stations, cathedrals and factories that Northern Echo readers know well – and can visit long after the credits roll.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login