The Great Western Railway (GWR) 4700 Class was a class of nine 2-8-0 steam locomotives, designed by George Jackson Churchward. They were introduced in 1919 for heavy mixed-traffic work. Although primarily designed for fast freight, the class also sometimes hauled passenger trains, notably heavy holiday expresses in the summer months. They were called "Night Owls" because they were primarily designed to haul goods during the night and that they could be seen simmering in the daylight, awaiting their nocturnal duties.

At the end of the First World War, the running department of the GWR identified the need for a larger version of the successful GWR 4300 Class 2-6-0 incorporating the Swindon No. 1 boiler. They envisaged a smaller version of the successful Saint class 4-6-0 with 5 ft 8 in (1.727 m) driving wheels - the intermediate of Churchward's three standard wheel sizes, for express goods trains. However, Churchward preferred a 2-8-0 design for this purpose.

Nine were built, but no members of the class were preserved. However, the Great Western Society 4709 Group made the decision to create the next locomotive in the sequence, GWR 4709. Supported via a GWS sub-group; the plan was to build it using a mixture of new parts and others recycled from former Barry scrapyard locomotives. The plates for the new frames were cut and machined in 2012.