"The Sire, looking forth upon the waters and driving under a clear sky, guides his steeds and, flying onwards, gives reign to his willing car ...." Aeneid I. (124 -156)

A fountain designed by Joseph Hall on the promenade at Cheltenham in Gloucestershire is Neptune’s legacy in Britain. The excerpt from the Aeneid describes the sculpture, as Neptune in his quadriga, races across the waves to dispense justice. His cloak flies and the Triton blows on his conch to announce Neptune’s journey. With no specific commission but inspired by Italian prototypes, contemporaries variously described it as "very beautiful" and "the ugliest fountain in Europe" at its inauguration.