If you’d like to read more about the history of south-eastern English pronunciation, I’d recommend the Cambridge History of the English Language series. I used volumes II and III extensively for this video, but if there are mistakes, they’re far more likely to be mine. The chapters on phonology are particularly interesting.
If you have any specific questions, I’m more than happy to answer them in a comments and provide a page reference, or a reference to another piece of research. I also have a few videos on similar topics. My videos on the consonants and vowels of Old English go through some of the methods by which older pronunciation is reconstructed.
My sister’s etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/Cryingin…
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Josh Liesicke’s redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/Sinc…
CORRECTIONS:
Julia G. commented that 1646 recording mentions the display of a crucifix at a time (presumably the 1570s-1580s) when the open practice of Catholicism was considered high treason in England. I admit I had the timings slightly wrong here – although I think it is possible that some families privately kept hold of Catholic items and displayed them occasionally, it would have been dangerous. The mention of the crucifix was designed to provide a contrast to his comment at the end of the recording, which refers to the fact that Christmas was soon to be illegalised altogether.
msamba 
Of the first two I hardly understood anything.
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I struggled but some words are still pronounced a bit like that here in the north!
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They sounded a bit nordic to me, and the later ones even as if there were Dutch words included.
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Unsurprising as they’re Anglo-Saxon, so culturally subject to similar biases?
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And did the vikings not land at the east coast? I can’t remember, when the first invasion or settlement, depends on the point of view, was.
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Approximately Danes and Saxons in the south, south east and east coast and Vikings around Scotland (they owed all the outer Hebrides at one stage), Ireland and northern England. The Welsh, Irish and Vikings mixed around here. Strong Norman influence in England, Spanish and French influence in Ireland and Scotland respectively. Better told: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_settlement_of_Britain
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Thanks for the history lesson. 🙂 I could never remember the years when things happened or in which sequence.
We mainly learned about wars and kings. But, when you have 9 or so Ottos or Henrys, who can remember which Otto/Henry did what?
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Ha, ha, very true!
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