It's Lamb's Ears, Stachys byzantina. It has spikes of lavender flowers. Have a look at the Wiki site.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stachys_byzantina

Thanks honeysuckle, I never thought I'd ever be any sort of gardener but since I inherited this one I've become quite obsessed about it.

I thought Lychnis coronaria , dusty miller . it produces either magenta or white flowers. short lived perennial but seeds freely.

Stachys is much hairy and more of a rosette than this. well it is in my garden.

thanks Seaburngirl, hope it is Dusty Miller, that was my Dads nickname when he was in the army

Lamb's Ear is fuzzy. This must be something else.

It's definitely Lychnis coronaria, though its name has changed to Silene coronaria now... has magenta flowers later on, perennial, also seeds itself occasionally.

thank you Bamboo, everything thats bloomed so far has been red or purple so this seems to tie in with the previous occupants colour scheme.

You are of course right and I was wrong. Lambs Ears came to mind because of the colour and the fact I have just enlarged the garden bed to accommodate the spreading plant! Why I didn't know this was Lychnis coronaria I have no idea, as I have this seeding everywhere - garden, paths, walls etc., pretty and easy to pull up if you don't want it there.
So sorry everyone!

no need to apologise honeysuckle. it depends on which sized screen I'm using sometimes to be certain of what I am looking at. and memory really does like deserting me at the stupidest times, like introducing my older brother to a friend. for the life of me I couldn't remember his name. I knew which one he wasn't! but I've been like this since I was 10 apparently.