An itinerant harlot, who bilks the bagnios and bawdy-houses, by disposing of her favours on the wayside, under a hedge; a low beggarly prostitute.
Definition taken from The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose.
Hedge Priest * HeelsNathan Bailey's 1736 Dictionary of canting and thieving slang
John S. Farmer's collection of canting songs and slang rhymes