But the commerce of Plymouth, and its importance as a seaport for the New World, were then growing year by year, and the number of vessels to and from America and the West Indies that had to run in jeopardy by reason of the Eddystone shoal was very rapidly increasing. We are not, therefore, surprised to find another scheme for a lighthouse on these rocks put forward at no very distant date. It was presented to the ‘Court’ of the Trinity House, and came under consideration on February 11, 1692. The minute of the proceedings reads as follows:— ‘Proposall’s of Walter Whitfield, Esqʳᵉ, read. Where, under the authority of the corporation, he will undertake, at his own charge, to erect a lighthouse upon Dunnose, and to secure the Eddistone from being obnoxious to the navigation, upon such conditions as to the allowance for the charge of setting upp and maintayning thereof, and a share of the profitts arissing therefrom, as shall be agreed on; he being, besides, to be at the whole trouble and charge of obtayning subscriptions and of procuring and passing the King’s letters patent for the same. Which said proposals having been considered and debated, it was the opinion of the Board that a light upon Dunnose would be unnecessary, if not altogether useless; but, on the contrary, one uppon the Eddistone would be of great use and benefit to the navigation. And thereupon it was ordered that he should be desired to explain himself, whether he meant the setting a lighthouse upon Eddistone: and if so, what he estimated his charge thereof would be, and what he would be content to take from the navigation.’ This is the record of the first step taken towards establishing the famous lighthouse at the Eddystone, with which, hitherto, the name of Henry Winstanley has been alone associated. Who was Walter Whitfield, where he came from, what was his profession, and what led him to turn his mind to lighthouse erection, we do not know; but it is certain that, as he soon after explained, it was by means of a lighthouse on the Eddystone that he proposed to indicate the dangers of those rocks; and though we may rightly regard Winstanley as the _builder_ of the first Eddystone lighthouse, we certainly cannot properly regard him as the _projector_ of the scheme. The credit for this must be given first to those who suggested it in 1665—Sir John Coryton and Henry Brouncker—and secondly to Walter Whitfield, whoever he may have been.