Five (now seven) ports or havens on the south-east coast of Eng-laud, towards France, formerly esteemed the most important in the kingdom. They are Dover, Sandwich, Romney, Hastings, and Ilythe, to which wincheisea and Rye have been since added. They had similar fran-chises, in some respects, with the counties palatine, and particularly an exclusive, jurisdiction. (before the mayor and jurats, corres-ponding to aldermen, of the ports,) in which the king’s ordinary writ did not run. 3 BL Comm. 79
Source: Black's Law Dictionary 2nd Ed (1910)
