During the 18th Century Exmouth had a lively smuggling history. The Mutter family were major players around this time, though much of the storey is anecdotal. One thing that is known is that William Mutter and Charles Blackmore were jailed in 1857 for concealing a large amount of brandy under the cliffs between Exmouth and Budleigh.
Mutters cider shop, which was located at the junction of Hamilton Road and Salterton Road was reputed to be at the centre of local smuggling activies with a direct connection to the beach at Orcombe Point by means of Lime Kiln Lane.
It has also been suggested that the Mutters were associated with the legendary smuggler Jack Rattenbury, whose area of operations was along the coast the the east.
Both the Mutters and Rattenbury have East Devon moors named after them.