The Barton Cottage is where the Dashwood girls, Mrs.Dashwood, Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret, were invited to live after they were dismissed from their previous home.  The cottage is located in Mr. Middleton's property.  The Barton Cottage was described to be small, compact and pratical. The building was described as regualr, the roof was tiled, the window shutters were not painted and the walls did not have honeysuckle. The cottage contained two sitting rooms which were about 16 feet squared. This is where Whilloughby would come to visit Marianne and finally announce that he would be departing to London. It also contained 4 bedrooms, an office, stairs and attic. The significance of this in the story is that it shows how lacking they have become financially. It also allows for the plot to thicken as know that there is where Willoughby meets Marianne. It demonstrates their status now that the Dashwood women collected 500 pounds a piece they could no longer afford to live in big lavish manors or homes.