Identify this plant.

Castor bean I think - were the seeds large?

Yes the seeds were big (bigger than a garden pea)

Yes, probably Castor Oil plant (Ricinus), be careful as all parts are poisonous, this is the plant that Ricin is made from (remember the Japanese underground incident?)

Yes i grew this about five years ago, my variety was grown for it's reddish pink seedpods.

Ricinus communis does have a very similar leaf to this, however the leaves tend to have a red underside and bronzy tinges to the top of the leaves. The plant you have looks more like a Tetrapanax papyrifer (rice paper plant). It will grow to over 3m every year and will be a little tender in the country.

I have one that looks like this but much taller & many stems,i grow mine in a large pot to contain the growth.Mine is an artificial castor oil plant(though not fake plant!),I got it from B&Q it flowered after the first two years but it doesn't get berries-some variety's gets black berries.I asked about the care at a 'proper' garden center & they said that there are many variety's of this plant and that they like the shaded areas of the garden & you treat them mean!