Hi Suze
An on- licence means they can serve alcohol for drinking on ( or off) the premises, whereas an off licence means they can only sell it for taking away , ie like a shop. Unfortunately in the directories (particularly the earlier ones) many places are descrinbed just as "beer retailer", which can mean either like a licensed shop, or like a pub, but one which only normally serves beer (there were many like that around 1900 or earlier), but which, though it has a name, this is not listed in the directory.
The Batemans I have links with are from Worcestershire.
Mike