Patna stands on both banks of the River Doon, some 10 miles south east of Ayr and 5 miles from Dalmellington on the A713. All the Doon Valley villages have a lot in common through their shared history of coal and ironstone. From the early 1960s integration has been helped with a shared secondary non–denominational education at Dalmellington. Piggots Directory of 1837 has very little information on Patna:

“Patna is a small village, in the parish of Straiton, situated on the banks of the Doon, which abounds with trout. Lime and coal are obtained plentifully in this neighbourhood, and give employment to the villagers. Andrew Kerr is a publican; John Dick a tailor; Thomas Dick a shoemaker, John McConachie a mason, James McCoull the schoolmaster, Alexander and James Ramsey joiners and Cartwright in the village.”

Patna (2004) has a population of around 3,500 and is connected to the A713 Ayr – Dalmellington road by two bridges over the River Doon, the Old Bridge of 1805 and New Brig built in 1960. From 1856 Patna had a thriving railway station on the G&SW branch railway between Ayr and Dalmellington. The passenger service ended on 6th April, 1964, albeit the line is still very busy operating coal traffic from Minnivey Loading Point.

Some historians have suggested that the name Patna is derived from the Gaelic, Pait ‘n Ath, ‘the water of the eminence’, for the old village was built upon a steep hillside west of the River Doon with a boat connecting the village to the east. However, it is more likely and now generally accepted that the village received its name from its founder, William Fullarton of Skeldon (near Dalrymple), whose family had connections with the city of Patna which stands on the banks of the River Ganges. Moore (1972) in his fascinating book Gently Flows the Doon outlines the background to the naming of Patna.

“Patna, the second surviving Doon Valley village, whose name conjures up visions of rice paddy fields, in fact owes its title to the great Indian city on the Ganges. It was founded in the early years of the 19th century by William Fullarton, whose family had a close connection with the Bihar State. Fullarton’s uncle, William Fullarton, in 1745 was in the service of the East India Company as surgeon at Fort William, now Calcutta. After a mixed career as a soldier and surgeon, he returned eventually to Scotland in 1770 where he bought the estate of Goldring (later Rosemount), near Kilmarnock. He died in 1805 with no family. This William Fullarton had a brother, Major General John Fullarton, of Skeldon (near Dalrymple). General Fullarton was also in the service of the East India Company and died in India in 1804. He was succeeded by his second son, William, then aged 24.”

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