Saint Patrick & Names along the Antonine wall

[MonsGraupius]

There's plenty of evidence (archeological and literary) for early Christianity in Britain in the 4th century, but we really don't need to rely on spurious and unlikely saints' lives composed centuries later, nor pious myths about the mother of Constantine and conspiracy theories about the Catholic church!
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No contemporary source mentions persecution in Britain, or any martyrs being killed there (and they were pretty beady-eyed about their martyrs!)

You've made a lot of criticism of Old Kilpatrick

I haven't really. I just don't think it a very likely place for several generations of Roman Christians to find themselves in the early 5th century!

And since there is no actual evidence to say that Patrick was from there - your Fiacc scholiast, or Probus, specifically names 'nem thur' as Alt Clud, which as far as I know is Dumbarton, not Old Kilpatrick - it seems at best a vague sort of guess. People have been doing this sort of thing for centuries (and some of them suggesting Kilpatrick too!) without coming up with anything conclusive.

Similarly, the game of pinning place names from ancient sources onto unnamed sites can be fun for a while, but it has diminishing returns I'd say. Or perhaps I just lack imagination?

Point taken re Constantine not making it "official" - although i don't think there is any doubt he was "officially" a Christian.

It isn't a "conspiracy" that Britain was distinct, Bede say "The Britons are contrary to the whole Roman world, and the enemies of Roman customs, not only in their mass, but in their tonsure." This clearly shows that Briton had customs that derived from another source other than Rome. It's therefore very likely that the early church in Britain was downplayed by the Roman church when they eventually seized control.

On the martyrs

Bede gives us:

CHAPTER VI: "This persecution was the tenth since the reign of Nero, and was more lasting and bloody than all the others before it; for it was carried on incessantly for the space of ten years, with burning of churches, outlawing of innocent persons, and the slaughter of martyrs. At length, it reached Britain also, and many persons, with the constancy of martyrs, died in the confession of their faith."

CHAPTER VII AT that time suffered St. Alban, of whom the priest Fortunatus, in the Praise of Virgins, where he makes mention of the blessed martyrs that came to the Lord from all parts of the world, says ­  In Britain's isle was holy Alban born. <snip> The blessed Alban suffered death on the twenty­ second day of June, near the city of Verulam, which is now by the English nation called Verlamacestir, or Varlingacestir, where afterwards, when peaceable Christian times were restored, a church of wonderful workmanship, and suitable to his martyrdom, was erected. In which place, there ceases not to this day the cure of sick persons, and the frequent working of wonders.
At the same time suffered Aaron and Julius, citizens of Chester, and many more of both sexes in several places; who, when they had endured sundry torments, and their limbs had been torn after an unheard­ of manner, yielded their souls up, to enjoy in the heavenly city a reward for the sufferings which they had passed through.

Bede clearly thought there were persecutions against the Christians in Britain. Whether this was every Christian, or just a few high profile ones does not matter as Saint Patrick's grandfather was a priest and would have been one of the high profile people likely to be executed unless he gave up. The dates for St, Patrick and St. Alban also are remarkably good. So saying Pontius may have left as a result of St.Alban's martyrdom is very credible

Re: "Similarly, the game of pinning place names from ancient sources onto unnamed sites can be fun for a while, but it has diminishing returns I'd say. Or perhaps I just lack imagination?"

So don't look because you don't think anything will be found, which is a self-fulfilling prophecy - as you won't find anything unless you look.

But I did look and I found the name of Old Kilpatrick. Which proves you wrong!!

However, I do agree with you that, there have been people who have gone around assigning names to places based on nothing more than a guess. So unless you have specific information to tie a name to a place, at best that allocation should be called "tentative".

But this is not what we have with Old Kilpatrick. This is a run of good links, linked together because they are in a list, with clear historical evidence for "Nemthur" being at Dumbarton or (3.75miles east to ) Old Kilpatrick. That's no distance (it's the distance from Tower of London to London Zoo!). So, I'm sorry your statement saying that Alt Clud is too far from Old Kilpatrick is just rubbish.