Originally Posted by
yandosan
Found lots of references, this one sums it up well.
Generally, my English graduate school professor indicated that a Virginia accent in the US is close to what Elizabeth I sounded like.
Language experts deduce this primarily from poetry -- if two words in a poem written back then rhyme, but the same two words don't rhyme today, then the older poem shows the older pronunciation. By comparing multiple examples you begin to get an idea about how it sounded.
to whit, to woo, a merry note, while greasy jane doth keel the pot.