The larger of the 2 tumps is 64 yards in external diameter and 14ft above the bottom of a ditch surrounding it. The outer scarp of the ditch folds back on itself towards the north on the west side where it would seem that the river once flowed. Around the rest of the motte the ditch is to a depth of 1.7m.

On the motte stone embedded in the surface and lying around suggests the existence of a motte. There are some buried foundations and traces of other enclosures.

The smaller of the 2 mounds is to the south on the opposite side of the river. It is oval shaped with measurements of 40 meters in diameter and rising 1.2 meters above a slight ditch.

The name Chanstone is probably from the personal name Chanu or Chani. A Laurence Chanu appears in 1207 in association with the area and a Philip Chani was a monk of nearby Dore Abbey in the 13th century. Chanstone therefore means 'the estate of Chanu/Chani'