In the early 1800s an ancestor of mine was the licensee of an inn in Garth in mid-Wales. Before the days of courts as we know them today there were itinerant English magistrates. Courts were held on Sundays so working people could attend, and held in any local building that could accommodate the proceedings. In Garth that was my ancestor’s inn.
One Sunday the magistrates asked to be served drinks, but my ancestor refused as in those days Wales was “dry” on Sundays. Not only would it be illegal to serve them but as a devout Chapel goer it was against his religious & moral beliefs. On the spot the enraged magistrates cancelled his licence to serve alcoholic drinks, depriving him of his livelihood.
He did manage to re-establish himself by moving to a coaching inn in nearby Builth Wells which was not subject to visiting magistrates and, as a hotel offering overnight accommodation for travellers, not subject to quite the same licencing laws.