These were certain privileged areas within the City of London which, prior to 1697, were exempt from the jurisdiction of the City, and possessed the rights of sanctuary, of electing their own sheriffs, of freedom from arrest within the precinct, etc.
These privileges seem to have been derived from the charters and exemptions bestowed upon the monastic foundations whether by royal decree or by papal bull, and to have continued in force within the privileged areas after the monastic bodies on whom they were bestowed had been swept away.
The word "precinct" signified the space enclosed by walls or other boundaries of a place or building, from the Low Latin "precinctum " = boundary.
These precincts included : St. Martin's le Grand ; Blackfriars; Whitefriars; St. Katherine's by the Tower, formerly in Portsoken Ward; Tower Liberties, Minories precinct; Old Artillery Ground; The Temple; Duke's Place, Aldgate.
In course of time the possession and exercise of these privileges led to grave abuses, with the result that many of these areas became the resort of characters of the lowest class and were a serious menace to the peace and security of the inhabitants of the City.
The privileges were abolished by Act of Parliament, 1697, and the areas again brought under the jurisdiction of the City.
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Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
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Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.