A common first name in my family is RALPH, handed down through generations from at least the 1600s. So I'm just wondering...

In Northumberland, in the 17th and 18th centuries, how would Ralph have been pronounced by most people?

...With a hard 'a' and silent 'l' as in Rafe [like Ralph Fiennes]?
...Or the way it is here, in my neck of the woods, with a soft 'a' as in Ralf?

Trish
Toronto, Canada