What the 1838 Ordnance Survey six-inch map depicted as a roughly subrectangular enclosed tree plantation had, by the time surveyors returned between 1912 and 1916, become something noticeably altered: the trees in the southern half were gone, and a disused gravel pit occupied the northern interior. The shape itself had grown more irregular. The site had already begun its quiet process of being used up.

When archaeologists inspected the enclosure in October 1984, what remained was a poorly preserved subrectangular earthwork measuring approximately 37 metres east to west and 19 metres north to south. It is defined by a low scarp, which is essentially a slight change in ground level marking where a boundary once stood more firmly. Traces of an external fosse, a defensive or boundary ditch running from the south around through the west and continuing to the northeast, were still visible at that point. Quarrying had by then already encroached on the monument at the southeast corner, compounding the damage that tree clearance and gravel extraction had done before it. Whether the enclosure originally served a defensive, agricultural, or ecclesiastical function, the name Glebe, referring to land historically attached to a parish church for the support of its clergy, adds a layer of ambiguity to what purpose this particular piece of ground once served.